


The kill shot

by Fighting_for_Creativity



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky Barnes Has Panic Attacks, Character uses strong language, Cheating, Drunk Sex, Drunken Kissing, Dubious Consent, F/M, Hurt Bucky Barnes, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Obadiah Stane is a Dick, Obadiah Stane uses racists language, Oblivious Tony Stark, Rom/Com elements, believed to be dead Bucky, implied - Freeform, killing for money, kind of amnesic character, mentioned suicide of pregnant woman, mercenary, more or less detailed, please read note for chapter 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:47:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22048861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fighting_for_Creativity/pseuds/Fighting_for_Creativity
Summary: He gets his client's wishes, he kills his targets. There is no one better than him. Except maybe the Widow. But she was an ally most of the time.Whenever he felt need, he would fall back on her, as she did on him.Everything was good. Everything was stable and a routine of accepting deals, killing, cleaning, collecting his money and coming home to his pet Alpine.Everything was well if only his memories would stop invading his waking hours.Then he has to meet Edward.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Natasha Romanov mentioned, James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark, Jamey/Edward, Rebecca Barnes/Tony Stark past, past James "Bucky" Barnes/ Tony Stark
Comments: 42
Kudos: 46
Collections: Bucky Barnes Bingo 2019, Tony Stark Bingo 2020





	1. Being an Assassin

**Author's Note:**

> My fill for BBB2019  
> Chapter 1: Square Y 4 Mercenary  
> Chapter 2: Square U 2 Picture of Bucky lying on the ground, Alpine on him

James Buchanan Barnes, nowadays known under the alias Winter Soldier, was highly sought after. Ironically more often than not, because of his skillset from ‘colleges’. There were a couple of people like him. The Black Widow program had seen to that. They either wanted him to teach them or kill him. It really only depended on the mood of whoever searched for him these days. James didn’t care much for that. He was making a good living with the assassinations and was able to be picky about which offer he took and which he turned down. He hasn’t had many morals. Or maybe his had just been washed black, over and over until they turned dirty instead of white. However he drew a line at certain requests. He simply refused to kill kids or pregnant women. If the person who ordered the hit was actually related, like the father or the mother of the child, he killed those instead. 

He knew that wasn’t what he should do. He knew. The old Bucky would have been ashamed. The old Bucky would have run to the police, tail between his legs, offering himself up to the officials. But that had been before. He wasn’t that Bucky anymore. He wasn’t even Bucky anymore. He was James, or Winter. Bucky has had friends, had been popular, friendly, charming. James wasn’t. He neither had friends, not with his branch of work, nor was he friendly. 

Charming, sometimes, if the mission parameters dictated him to. After all, what was a seduced wife, soon to be dead, alongside her husband, if it paid off. 

Or rarely when he felt need.

In these moments he was filled with despise for himself. He had been trained, had defected and trained further, to not succumb to the lesser animal needs of human flesh. Yet he somehow found himself needing. Not simply wanting. No. Want was something he could ignore easily. He wanted to see Steven again. He wanted to get to know this one mysterious man, who always paid way too much for way too little service. He wanted to visit his old neighborhood, his other friends from before. He wanted to settle down, to retire and find himself a lovely wife, having his children. But he didn’t. 

Because want was irrelevant. Want was stupid and unneeded. Need however was a totally different story. Need drove you up the wall if unfilled. Need controlled you. Need was kryptonite to every assassin. Just like trust. He hadn’t trusted a soul since his first kill. Albeit that wasn’t accurate. He hadn’t trusted another human being completely. He needed to trust clients to pay the sums, or to face the consequences. Once in a while, he needed to trust another body close to his, to stifle the need. Luckily for James, there was one woman in this world, who he could trust with that. Who in return trusted him with her pleasure. She had been trained as a Widow, but like him she had defected. For a while, they stayed as each other’s companion. That had been years ago. Nowadays they met up whenever they needed their needs gone. Somehow both always able to find the other, no matter where or when. 

All that had been different once. Once he had only slept with people he genuinely liked. His little sister Becca always tried to tease him for being an old fashioned romantic. James wondered what Becca would say about him right now, as he pulled the trigger and in the far of distance a man dropped dead in front of a weapon store. His work done for the day, James started to pack his things away. He would clean them later, like always. All while Alpine would try (and succeed) to use him as her sleeping place. His beautiful stubborn white friend was one of the few reasons he kept going. Without his cat, he would be even more lost. 

But before he could go to his temporary home, he needed to get to his mysterious client. A few hours later found him where they had agreed to meet up again. James wasn’t stupid enough to believe no ill intent would ever befall him when meeting clients after the deed. Therefore he had checked the whole perimeter, three times, before letting the client know that he’d arrived. The client was half a head shorter than him, on the bigger side of the body mass and blade. He smoked a cigar. His whole appearance, from his far too expensive suit, to his obviously original Manhattan Richelieu, screamed filthy rich. James knew the money was dirty money, but he didn’t care much.

”Ah, the infamous Winter Soldier”, slightly crooked teeth were displayed as the client smiled. “You are as good as everyone says! Cigar?”

James shook his head. He wanted his money and then be gone. He didn’t like this man, not at all. “Too bad, they're really good. No? Maybe another time. Your money his right here-” the man took out a thick envelope, opening it and showing the notes to the assassin. “All real, all we agreed on. 100k if you do the job before midnight today, which you did.” He then handed the money over, letting James count them, looking through them for tracing devices and other things. “You’re indeed the best, albeit a bit mute. Anyway. Can I interest you in another well-paid job? A way more challenging one, I promise.” 

Behind his mask and goggles, James expression became suspicious, but he said- slightly muffled-: “Depends.” 

“Ah yes. Sure. You see. I have a little problem with someone. He‘s been my godson, still is to be honest. He started to act out of control early on, but still deferred to what was the best for the company. A couple of years ago that started to change, slowly but it did. Only recently, he has turned 34 now, it got out of hand. I want you to get rid of him before he destroys what his father and I have built all those years. Can you do that?” 

Something about this gave him pause. He sure as hell could do that, that wasn’t the problem here. He looked closely at the baldy man, but couldn’t figure out what it was that had him hesitating. “Sure.” 

The man’s whole face lit up and he reached for another envelopment. “Splendid! When you‘ve done the deed, you’re going to get 500k. As the first installment you’ll get another 500k” With that he gave over the money. “He will be at his Malibu Mansion in approximately three days. He’s unpredictable. Keep that in mind when you try to get the job done. I’ll arrange for something in Malibu-” 

“No need. I’ll just need his address.” 

“Well, that’s what I’m calling efficiency. Ok. It’s 10880 Malibu Point. You won’t be able to miss it. Contact me like this time when it’s done.” 

“Will do…” 

With a big grin, the bald man said his goodbyes: “Nice to do business with you, Mister Winter.


	2. A piece of his past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything was so familiar. The hair, the curve of the nose, the smile and the voice.
> 
> His opposite gave him a headache.
> 
> Thank god for small mercies like phone calls and Alpine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BBB Fill: Square U 2 Alpine laying on Bucky's chest, rifle next to them and they on the floor

**_Malibu_ **

Two days later found James and his beloved cat in the hot state California. “Malibu…. why does it have to be Malibu?”, he thought bitterly, as he pulled down his left arm sleeve even further. There was a reason he was the Winter Soldier and not some sweet summer child. “But once you have loved the Sommer, May and July were your favorites.” A tiny voice in the back of his mind whispered. A voice sounding so strongly like his little sister Bec’s that it hurt, hurting him so damn bad. To make it stop, he berated himself: “No James… stop it. What was before is before and never will be again.”

He would never know how it happened, but suddenly he was reaching out for a stranger, who was about to travel the street on a red signal, with his left prosthetic arm. The action saved the man’s life. 

“Uh...Thank you?” The stranger turned confused eyes towards him. Only to take a look at the streetlight again, and back to James. “No really… thanks. Sometimes I’m way too preoccupied…” 

If you wanted to not be remembered, there existed a couple of rules. Rule number one: never interact with people close to your target or general places. James knew all the rules, all the tricks in the book. He wouldn’t say anything. “Just shrug it off,” he told himself. “Shouldn't be part of the traffic then,” replied James muffled. He couldn’t help himself.

Something about those big brown eyes, that disheveled hair, used denims and converse called out to him. Instead of being offended, like a normal person would be, the stranger laughed slightly. “Hm~ yeah probably. The name’s Edward. What’s yours’ handsome stranger?” 

It took James a second, he had some kind of Deja Vu, before he answered: “James.” 

Why he answered truthfully, he couldn’t figure out. Some part of him, some old memories had clawed their way back out of their graves, making him vulnerable, making him feel raw. A long time ago, he had saved another brown-eyed, distracted stranger. A long time ago the same person had asked him for a name. Had called him handsome in the first five minutes of their conversation too. The only difference was the name. Back then it had been Anton. “Well, James, let me invite you to a drink? As a celebration that there are still people helping others out.” 

That…. That was familiar as well. His head hurt. He felt his throat constricting, his mouth went dry. Before he could do anything about it, Edward’s phone went off. After a short glance at the caller ID, Edward hastily pulled out a  burger king receipt and a ballpen. He scribbled down a few numbers and words. “Here. I gotta go now. Don’t hesitate to call me. This drink-date is only postponed, but not canceled! Promise!” With a press of his hand into James, passing the paper, he hurried away, finally taking the call. 

James‘ head didn’t stop hurting. His heart was pounding as if he had run a marathon or two. Nasty pressure settled on his chest, old scars starting to ache. Making wearing his prosthetic unbearable. He just wanted to get away from the man, from the situation. He fled from the scene. Running in a frenzy, without realizing where to. He was spooked by ghosts he only remembered vaguely. A soft smile, playing with fluffy curls, eyes too expressive for their owners own good. He sometimes got those flashbacks. Never sure if they’d been there or dreams while he’d been in  _ THEIR _ tender care. When it was too cold to sleep, too painful to breathe, too hard to hold on, James had clung tightly onto the soft voice, speaking tenderly into his ears: ‘I love you, soldier’

\---

A lot later the assassin came back to himself. He was sitting on a rooftop far away from the target’s address. James had a lot of difficulties now and then, often due to his flashbacks. But never had they been as bad as this time. Something about the man- Edward- had triggered him. Somehow Edward felt familiar. The brown-haired male had reawoken feelings James had thought long dead. Feelings of safety and home. The assassin was intrigued by how that could be. He knew he didn’t have a connection with anyone anymore. He was aware that there was nowhere safe for him. Yet somehow…

‘I should forget about him and concentrate on my mission.’ Thought James bitterly. It had already gotten dark, which meant he had to wait another day to do a real stake out of the perimeter. Instead of that, he headed to a store, filled the cabinets in his temporary apartment enough that it looked lived in, and gave Alpine her food. James didn’t go anywhere without his furry friend. For the rest of the night, he was restless. He scurried around his one-room apartment. Never stopping long enough to calm down completely. 

In the end, he sat on the floor by the bed and started to dis- and reassemble his rifle. The crumbled receipt with Edwards number on it was not forgotten but ignored in his jeans pocket. He didn’t count how many times he did this cycle but sometime around 1 am Alpine butted her head against his arm and climbed into his lap. This successfully prevented James from continuing his task. With a bone-deep sigh he put his rifle to the side and started to pet Alpine.   
“You know, I never understand those snippets. They feel so real. I mean, I know they’re real, they’re my memories after all. Or what I remember of them. I just….” Another sigh filled the room while the white cat started to purr and leaned her front paws against his chest. Cchuckling to himself, he scooped up his cat and lay down on the floor, resting Alpine on his right side, while his rifle lay half-forgotten next to him. “You’re right, Alpine, I should rest. Everything will be better after a few hours of sleep.”

As if to answer, Alpine massaged his chest with her milk tread and coiled herself on it, purring contently while James still scratched and petted her. He did that until his eyelids dropped and he fell into a restless sleep. Dreams full of brown eyes, sparkling gold in the sun, and the sweetest smiles and tenderest touches.


	3. Hello again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James tries to get familiar with his targets grounds. Meeting Edward again and going out with him wasn't on the agenda.
> 
> Tony decides to ignore the danger and sometimes dreams hurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, would you look at that. A chapter.
> 
> I try to get a weekly update done but I won't promise it.
> 
> A big thank you to   
> [Geek007](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Geek007) for pointing out my bad geography knowledge in chapter 2
> 
> also thank you to my two wonderful beta's in the hope you guys stick with me for the story.
> 
> Please enjoy.♥

James starred flatly at the ceiling, counting cracks here and there. The clock still showed 4 am and something, which would be a good time to check out the address of his target. Yet, James had only slept for 3 hours and it was starting to take a toll on him. Next to him, Alpine was purring in her sleep. Sometimes he wished to be a cat as well.

The estate was huge and so was the grounds surrounding it. James had decided to use the excuse of being a jogger to round the premise. To his chagrin the border ended at a private part of the beach, thus he couldn’t even round it without alerting someone. All in all, James found that despite the cameras, the security was shockingly lacking. No guards visible, no walls or even fences beyond the standard rich person garden wall. The gate seemed to be open at all times and the house itself was more glass than stone.

James had never seen such bad security before, it left him oddly cautious. He was on his way back, just rounded the other corner of the ground, when he bumped into someone familiar. While James barely stumbled, the smaller man landed on his ass with an “Ufff!”

At first James wanted to ignore the other and just keep his run up, but something kept him rooted to the spot, extending a hand to help the other brunet up.    
  


“Uhm thanks. Dang!” Edward said, still seemingly distracted. When he looked up and really looked at the brick wall he had  run into, he blushed first, then smiled cockily. “Well, well well. Looks like it’s my lucky day. Of all the available things I could have run into, I got to run into the handsome buddy I still owe a coffee, or whatever he desires!” 

The ‘whatever he desires’ was said with a lascivious wink, which actually sent a small shiver down James’ spine.  The assassin decided to play dumb. “Uhm… You don’t owe me anything, Edward. It was Edward, right?“ 

A small chuckle let Edward‘s shoulders bob up and down, mirth playing in his eyes.

“Aw, you remember me, sweet! Yes, it’s Edward. I think we should get that coffee now.”

James wasn’t sure what was happening, only that he still hadn’t let go of the other’s hand. “Uh, ok?” 

That was how they found  themselves in a small cafe on a street not far away. Edward was talking  animatedly about various things James had only a vague idea about. After a while Edward stopped talking all together and a faint blush crept up on his cheeks. He groaned and mumbled something along the line of: ‘God I am doing it again. He probably thinks I’m an asshole’

This left James bereft. “No. I don’t think of you as an asshole. I like your voice.”

Now it was on James to cringe. Who the heck said creepy stuff like that? His opposite was probably going to run after that. 

“Huh… that’s… nice. Thank you. I enjoy your intelligent questions.” Edward replied haltingly.    
Both looked at each other for a moment and then broke out in laughter, at first small and breathy, then nearly hysterically. Soon a waitress approached them and asked for them to either get their act together or leave. James found himself still sniggering after Edward had paid and they stood in front of the cafe. Brown eyes found his, a tender hand circled his right one. James‘ breath hitched. 

“I… had fun. Thank you. Can we… can we meet again?”

Before he knew what he was doing, James moved his hand so that their palms met in a somewhat hand-holding gesture and brought them to his lips, kissing Edward’s fingertips lightly. “It’d be my pleasure, sugar.”

For a moment James was mortified by his behaviour. For a moment he thought he had ruined this easygoing thing between them. Something he hadn’t known he wanted for while now. But the shorter male surprised him with a blindingly innocent smile, eyes shining with happiness, making James‘ chest ache. 

“Meet me here again tomorrow. Around 10 am? Does that work for you?”

James could only nod. 

“Great, it’s a date! Till tomorrow, Jamey!”

As Edward departed, hips swaying with every step, brown curls flowing in the mild wind, James knew he had screwed up big time.

The other man was dangerous in his own way.

***

Edward left the other man standing there and went home. When he ducked back in through one of the secret entrances, he called out: “Daddy’s home!”    
  
“Welcome back, Sir. May I ask why you have turned off your tracker?”

Cringing at the disapproval in JARVIS’s voice, Tony smiled apologetically. “I… thought it best. James was a bit… skittish. I don’t know if he knows who I am but… Normal people don’t have trackers on them.”

“Sir… Well, if you think it wise. Just… be cautious. My analysis showed that it was indeed Mr. James who circled the premise earlier this day.”

A contemplative silence settled over Tony while he deposited his shoes and jacket, stepping into his workshop and sitting down at one of his many workbenches. “You think he’s dangerous?”

“He could be, Sir.”

“Dang. All the pretty ones I like.” Tony scrubbed a hand tiredly over his face. After a moment he stood abruptly and paced erratically. “J, compile a security check on James. I want every dirty secret! But… but don’t show it to me unless he… I dunno… unless he’s a killer out to get me or something dramatic like that, I guess.” 

A small self-deprecating chuckle escaped him. ‘God, I’m so paranoid. Ever since- Nope, no. Nyet. Nein. Not going there’

Sadly, his mind had other ideas, and seeing as he had not slept the previous night, Tony fell asleep on his desk. 

~~~

” _ Whoa!” _

_ “Gotcha, sweet thing.” The man who had pulled Tony off the street just in time, frowned at him. _

_ Hazelnut eyes met steel silver. For a moment Tony was speechless until he realized the situation. In that moment his eyes widened comically, his boyish features filled with panic before they settled into a shy smile. _

_ “Thank you. That… I could be mush on the street by now.” _

_ The other’s face softened remarkably and a coquettish grin replaced the stern frown. “Better watch where you‘re going then, sugar. I could have understood if it had been me running into the street, with such a fine ass in front of me.” _

_ The shy smile got bigger and the other male couldn’t look away. “What’s your name handsome? Mine is Anthony.” _

_ “Buchanan, but everyone calls me Bucky. Can I add you to that list?” _

_ “Well, Bucky,” Tony nearly purred the name, enjoying the darkening of the other man's pupils, “Only if you do me the pleasure of inviting you on a drink, maybe coffee?.” _

~~~

Tony jerked awake, feeling wetness on his face. It had been a long time since he had dreamt of Bucky. Been a long time since he had lost everything.


	4. Obadiah Stane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get an inside on Obadiah Stane, Tony is an oblivious and trusting cookie and James suspects something isn't right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read!  
> Mind the updated tags
> 
> As a way of showing just HOW despisable Obadiah Stane is in this story, I used a lot of negative words including but not limited to racists words.
> 
> Those who know me can attest to me being not of that mindset and I just wanted to clarify that in advance.
> 
> Other than that, please enjoy this very short chapter. See you next thursday^^

Stane prided himself on being a manipulative and accomplished businessman. Over the years, especially since Howard  Stark's death, he had managed to wrangle control over SI from everyone around him. Everyone but his godson. How he hated the brat. When Tony’s girlfriend had died, he had thought it was his ticket to fully control the young man. The maddening thing about this was, it had actually worked for a few years. 

Then that stupid nigger returned from one of his longer tours and stayed more than a few weeks. Effectively cutting off some of Obadiah’s strings over Tony. Suddenly Tony started to develop his own mind and to mouth off to him. Still, he had been developing weapons so Obadiah had let it slide.

Now Tony had announced to the world that he was going to shut down the weapons department all together, which would ruin SI. Obadiah was sure of that. The only solution would be the engineer’s death. Because of that reason, he had reached out in the underworld and listened to rumors here and there. Finally, after weeks and months of searching, he found the gem everyone called **_The Winter Soldier_**.

At first, he was uncertain if he should really contact such a man. But as time passed and evidence about Tony’s lack of common sense prevailed, he needed to do something. So Obadiah contacted the assassin. He ordered a smaller hit to test him, then someone bigger and so on until he ordered Justin  Hammer's demise. Because with Hammer out of the picture, there weren’t anymore business rivals for SI, even after Anthony’s death, which he had ordered now and hoped would be done soon.

Obadiah Stane sat in his office and looked over the city below him. One day soon all this would finally be his for good and no Stark, neither Howard nor Anthony would take it away from him. A cruel smirk spread over his lips as he thought, ‘Just another similarity between you and your dearest Daddy. Assassinated but made to look like an accident.‘

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony had finished his newest schematics and was playing idly with some prosthetic works which he wanted to start a new product line with as soon as weapons were removed from their production list. Just as he decided to place everything on hold for now and go to sleep, JARVIS announced: “Sir, Mr. Stane is on the phone. Do you want to take the call?”

If he didn’t know better, Tony would have thought that JARVIS disliked Obie. Grinning happily, Tony said, “Put him through, J.”

“Tony, my boy, how are you?”

“Obie! Great, but I was about to hit the sack.”

Tony could practically taste the disapproval from Obie’s next words, and he was thankful that it was just a normal call, not a video call. “Now? It’s barely noon. Have you been partying again, my boy?”

“No, I was… engineering and thinking for that matter. Lost track of time. You know me, Obie.” He tried to keep his voice light, but it hurt to be on the receiving end of that tone from his mentor.

“Well yes, I do, I guess. I shouldn’t have been surprised. Well, what kept you up so long, Tony?”

“Ah… nothing in particular, like I said, thinking and engineering. Preparing for when we stop the weapons manufacturing.”

“Tony,” This time there really was a groan and disappointment laced in just his name.

“I know Obie, but we talked about this and I-”

Before Tony could finish, Obie interrupted with, “I know, Tony, I know. But you need to understand that this-”

But Tony didn’t listen anymore. JARVIS had opened a holoscreen with his outdoor security cameras. Lo and behold, James was loitering at his door. Well, not directly at his door, but one of the not so publicly reachable entrances.”I gotta go, Obie, nice talking to you!”

With that JARVIS cut the line immediately. Tony didn’t care if that meant irritating his mentor at this moment, because right now, there was a beautiful man waiting for him. “J… why is James there.”

“If I knew, I would have told you so, Sir.” Did Tony just detect some snappy tone? ‘Uhg, seems like J is really not happy with Obie and me at the moment…’ The genius didn’t linger on that thought. His mind, which had settled enough to sleep before Obie called, was now in overdrive mode again. A thousand and more possibilities ran around in that stupid head of his. “J…”

“What, Sir?”

“Should I get out there or should I stay here?”

“I would prefer to keep my virtual eye on him while you get some rest, Sir.”

“Well.. rest is forfeit now, I think. I will just tinker a bit more and keep looking at the screen I guess.” He shrugged half-heartedly. The past few hours of sleep and then the call hadn’t helped at all. ‘Well, at least I got a bit of a nap in-between’ he suspected that he would crash soon enough anyway.

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~

To think that a simple man could throw the worst of all assassins for a loop, making him skittish like a wild animal, James was scoffing at himself. Never had he believed to find someone like that. Yet, in Edward he did. His thoughts were so distracting that he had trouble focusing on his mission, which left him strangely inefficient. Only around noon did he  find it in himself to return to where he had met Edward. James hadn’t completed the check and needed to find a way in without it being one of the obvious places.

The longer he stood there, leaning against the wall, he found that it was way too easy. The lack of security alarmed him. It made him suspicious of the whole residence. Why should his client pay so much money for an easily available target. Something didn’t quite click and he was determined to find out what. 


	5. The Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A date, a bit data gathering, a mild panic attack and a dream, James life was really eventful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sry for the delay. This idiot here has forgotten to tell her beta that this chapter was supposed to be done by yesterday. 
> 
> Therefore: THANK YOU for the fast work [FadedSepia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FadedSepia/pseuds/FadedSepia) you saved me!
> 
> Hope you enjoy it, till next week.

Hours passed, and James gathered information about the man he was supposed to kill, and the man who ordered the hit; Tony Stark and Obadiah Stane. Apparently, the very same Tony Stark who had made his most treasured rifle had declared to stop the production of weapons. A part of James was sad about that. Another found it a noble change of heart. However, he couldn’t figure out what had moved Stane to order the hit. At least nothing of real noteworthiness. Sure, according to the papers Stane wasn’t all too happy about the shutdown, but that was no reason, not considering how familiarly they both handled each other in the videos he found. 

But James dug a bit deeper, finding a few disagreements over the years, and finally a nebulous stretch of years with little to no information on both, which peaked his interest. He would have to go deeper still, potentially call in some favors. Something was off about them both. The assassin just hoped that by the time he found out what, he’d know if either or both of them had to be taken care of. He lingered a few more minutes on a candid gala shot from five months earlier; a fit and trim body in a glorious black suit, sunglasses obscuring the face more than James would have liked, but that smirk drew him in. While he thought about why Tony Stark seemed familiar his mind drifted back to his… - _Date?_ \- with Edward. He had more fun than Buck- _James_ \- felt he deserved.

Not having to hide completely, feeling safe despite that being a flat out lie; James could get addicted to that. Were he to ask why he’d done that on the way home, he’d have to answer that he didn’t honestly know. He had already figured out that Edward was a mystery, one which could either make him or break him.   
  
He typed a message into his burner phone.  _ [“Had fun today, would like to meet again. Tomorrow, same wall?”] _

He told himself that he chose that location purely because it meant that he would be closer to his target. If James would have been honest with himself, he’d have known it was because he feared that Edward would get in the middle of his mess.

Before he could get lost in those thoughts, his burner phone chimed.  _ [“Sure, handsome! I’ll be there!”] _

A small smile pulled at his lips, that feeling so foreign to him. Alpine was purring on his lap, while he typed away at his laptop. He needed to get more information about Stark and Stane. He needed to  _ know. _ And he needed to find out if Edward was connected to either of them.

\-------

  
  


They met at the wall around nine am. Edward was there before him, nervously shuffling his feet while scanning the area. James couldn’t help but drink in the contrasting beauty of the man. While the smaller man looked nervous, his posture also told of hidden strength and strong awareness of his surroundings. ‘ _ Hypervigilance, maybe? _ ’ his brain cataloged helpfully. ‘ _ But why should a civilian be hypervigilant?’ _

When he spotted James, the smaller man’s face brightened and he waved excitingly towards him. A small grin settled comfortably on James’ lips, and he waved back. A few steps closer and he was standing in front of Edward. “Hey there, sugar!”

Where that had slipped from, James couldn’t tell, but it was apparently the right choice. Edward blushed a faint red and smiled shyly for just a moment before he too grinned and retorted with, “If I’m the sugar you are the cream, sweetie pie.”

That started James laughing. It was such a bad pickup line, but it was said with so much cheek and confidence that, somehow, he liked it. “Are you going to show me around a bit more, or do you want to stand here all day flirting?”

After a short moment, a glance up and down, James added,“Not that I would complain either way.”

They spent that day walking around Malibu. Edward had a knack for sci-fi and dragged him into a ‘nerd shop’; Edward’s words, not his. James found that he liked the ridiculous and fantastical nature of some of the concepts Edward told him about while browsing the aisles. They ate lunch in a Mexican bistro, both ordering the most outrageous sounding dishes. Who would have known that James hated spicy food?

They spent their afternoon with Edward pointing out hideous facts about the city, and ended their outing early in the evening with a walk on the beach. James had been so preoccupied that he only realized belatedly where exactly on the beach they were. But when he did, he stopped abruptly. 

  
Edward turned to him and looked confused; with his head tilted, he asked, “What’s wrong Jamey? Uhmmm Can I call you Jamey? Anyway, what’s up?”

“We’re… isn’t this a private part of the beach?”

“Yes.”   
  


“Why are we here, then?” A desperate note spiked in his voice. Inside him, panic started to dig its familiar claws into his lungs, choking him so that he couldn’t get enough air. Only when Edward’s calloused yet tender fingertips brushed against his right hand did he realize that he was about to have a full-blown panic attack, out in the open. With another person close by. However, he didn’t flee. James stayed and turned towards Edward, completely trusting him to be able to handle this meltdown. Why though, he wasn’t sure. 

They sat in the sand for a couple of minutes until James’ breathing returned to normal. Both men had their knees drawn tight towards their bodies and their arms wrapped around them. The setting sun was glittering and reflecting on the ocean, dipping everything in the distance in an orange glow.

“You… wanna talk about this, James?” inquired Edward haltingly. James just shook his head in answer. Another moment of silence settled around them, until James leaned back, unfolding his arms and putting them behind him. 

“Edward?”

“Hm?”

“I… why are we… isn’t this Tony Stark’s private beach?”

“Yes.”

“Then how are we allowed to be here?”

Edward seemed to consider something, his fingers twitched nervously with the hems of his shirt, gaze shifting back and forth between the ocean and James. The assassin waited. 

With a sigh, the smaller man turned his head towards him. Eyes, now gleaming gold instead of hazel, were fixed on him while he softly spoke, “I am allowed to use this part of the beach. Tony Stark may be kind of an asshole, but - trust me - he won’t mind. Especially since I’m kinda living here.”

All the relaxation he had felt vanished with that statement. Was Edward a bodyguard? An unknown relative? Another pawn in Obadiah Stane’s plan, one that James hadn’t been informed of?

“You, live with Stark? Are you…?”

James hadn’t been sure what he was going to ask. After all, of all those questions in his head, only one was really safe. But it wasn’t the one whose answer he wanted to know. Whatever he was going to ask, Edward filled in the blank himself.

“We’re not a couple or anything. You could say… we’re  _ related,” _ a soft snort escaped him.

‘ _ So maybe another pawn? I need to find more on Edward. _ ’

“So it’s Edward Stark?”

“Nope~ It’s Edward Carbonell. If I could I would never have anything to do with the name  _ ‘Stark’. _ ”

There was a story there, the assassin was sure of that. Yet, now was not the time for this kind of talk. He needed a new plan; James needed to find more information, but it seemed that the more knowledge he gained, the less he really  _ knew. _ Which unnerved him.  _ A lot. _

“You… want to come home with me? Bring me to the door, maybe join me for a coffee?”

The halting, insecure invitation moved something protective inside James. 

“Well, darlin’, it’s dark outside. Who knows what might befall a lil’ beauty like you, so sure; I’d be honored to be your shining knight in not so shining armor.” 

Edward blinked at that. Then he burst out laughing. Soon enough, James joined him. They sat like that for as long as the sun was still on the horizon, getting up only after the first star was shining brighter than the last rays of the sun. 

“Well then, my knight in not so shining armor, take this beauty home!” Edward teased.

\----

James left after he had brought Edward to his front door, leaving the other many with a promise to text and a gentlemanly kiss on Tony’s hand. Wasn’t that something unusual? Most of the times Tony had been on a date - and by the end, the outing had turned into one - whoever he had been with had wanted to know if he lived up to his playboy reputation. James didn’t. All in all, the day had been a lot different than Tony had thought it would turn out. When he had gotten James’ message, he had started to plot out how to best gather information about the other man. JARVIS had pointed out that there was a real possibility of James being a criminal. His goal had been to find out at least a last name, or if James was really his name.

Instead, Tony had found himself enjoying talking nerdy with James. Instead, Tony had laughed about James’ dilemma with the overly spicy Mexican food. Instead, he had strolled on the beach with James like a lovesick teenager. Instead, they had somehow forged something there. 

The engineer didn’t like to examine what exactly this something was. Yet, he knew that, sooner or later, he would have to face it. 

“You had a good day, Sir?” Knowing J, Tony could hear the tersely concealed reproach in his AI’s voice.

“Stop it right there, J. You were with me the whole day! You could have told me to change tactics at any given time.”

\----

  
  


James contacted his client, told him he’d needed more time, that he needed to get Stark outside, and that the man had not left. It was not a real lie. Sure, Tony Stark hadn’t left the house, but that wouldn't be much of a hindrance. Well, it  _ shouldn’t _ be.

However, Edward was living in that building, and James knew he was compromised. The assassin didn’t want to kill Stark and have people frame Edward. Therefore, he needed Stark to be somewhere outside, yet not public enough that he would get caught. 

Additionally, Edward needed to be far away in the most public scene possible. So, all in all, nothing too complicated, right? 

After he informed his client, who, reluctantly, only offered a month - and that was non-negotiable - James got to work, shopping and stocking his supplies. As he wandered the streets, he couldn’t help but imagine himself living here, sharing more days with Edward. James had already realized that he was in too deep to do anything but hope for a good outcome. As soon as he was in his apartment again, he devised a research schedule. He needed to get more information on Edward first. Then James could worry about Stane and Stark. The assassin wondered if he could find anything about Edward on the internet. Edward had told him that he and Stark were related, but James had not found any evidence regarding Tony Stark having any other living relatives. 

‘ _ So maybe he was kept secret? Or I have to dig further into the past? I have already went back to 1994. Maybe something before then? His childhood? _ ’

James didn’t contact Edward that day. He had the phone in hand countless times, only to put it away before he even opened the messenger. He wanted to tell Edward about that hilarious dog running away from a kitten a few streets from the supermarket. James wanted to tell him about the clouds that looked like ships and shields and flowers and goats. The assassin wanted to hear Edward’s voice. 

If James was being honest, he wanted to be there with him, like he had desired Anton. 

Oh, how that realization hurt. After all those years, his heart still yearned for his sister’s fellow. The man he had only a vague recollection of. The man he had killed for and had somehow forgotten about. The only thing left was a name and beautiful hazel eyes hunting him in his dreams-

\----

  
  


A couple of days passed, more nightmares coming with each bit of information he gathered. Somehow, Stark knew Steve Rogers. Unearthing that connection had opened a whole chest full of nightmares for James. Steve had been Bucky’s friend. Steve had been his  _ brother. _ Which meant that the possibility of Tony Stark knowing Bucky Barnes was slim, but still there. After that revelation, James needed a break. All of his will power had to go into keeping up a calm front while walking back to his apartment. One there, however, he broke down, crying himself to sleep, hoping for peace and happiness, despite knowing that it never couldn’t be that way; not anymore. Hoping that he could find out why Stark really had to go, that he could find something justifying Tony Stark’s continued survival. James knew he had a choice, at least some in some form. 

And he knew that, if he didn’t finish the billionaire off, someone else would be hired. 

~~~

_ The blond he called his brother was sitting next to him in the cinema, but Bucky didn’t care much for what Steve was talking about. Two rows in front of him sat Becca. That itself wasn’t a problem in itself. Hell, if Becca was alone, Bucky would have invited her over to them. But Becca wasn’t alone. Bucky knew Becca was waiting for her date to come back from the snack bar. The brunet had only spotted Becca’s face in the sea of people before entering the cinema, but next to her he had been able to see a slightly shorter man. A man Bucky thought he knew.  _

_ “Are you even listening, Bucky?” _

_ Steve’s voice sounded annoyed when he asked Bucky that. Fair enough; he hadn’t been. Looking sheepishly towards Steve, Bucky said, “Not really. I think that’s Becca.” _

_ Quickly pointing towards his sister, Bucky distracted Stevie enough to not get berated for being rude. _

_ “Huh? Yeah, looks like her. Did you know she’d be here?” _

_ “Nope. Just saw her enter. She's with a man.” _

_ “Oh. Oh crap. You wanna scare him off? Playing protective big brother, Bucks?” _

_ Bucky just glared in response. That was until he caught the returning man out of the corner of his eyes. He recognized Anton’s profile. God; it was Anton. Anton who was going to sit his sister. Anton who gave her a shy peek on the cheek and popcorn and soda. Anton who’s number he had saved but never texted back after their first and last coffee. It was the man Bucky had fallen for but had been too much of a coward to be honest with. _

_ ~~~ _

Jerking awake, James tried to comprehend what he’d dreamt. In his dream, he had seen Anton’s features clearly; but the more he tried to remember, the blurrier the face got. A migraine started to pulse through his skull. 

James didn’t know why, but he knew he needed to remember more of his past. It wasn’t a general need to understand, to know more. It was a nagging in the back of his mind telling him that whatever lay buried behind the haze and hurt of years of torture and training was essential for his current mission.

In the silence of his darkened room he asked, “Anton… who have you been and what have you to do with Edward and Tony?”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony misses James. James kept Tony waiting. When Tony receives an answer, he is late to the meeting, which ends in the workshop.
> 
> Bots are being attention-seeking, resulting in Tony getting cock-blocked. But not for long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warning: SEX, but you get thrown in it for the last scene
> 
> Also, in this story, I go with DUM-E being a 'she'.
> 
> It's unbetaed for now, but my Beta will be coming back to it soon ;-)
> 
> Enjoy~

More days passed. With each day the unread messages stacked up. They all had one thing in common, they were from Edward. After a week James couldn’t ignore the messages anymore. After he read them all, James needed a moment. It wasn’t even the 21 _ ' **How are you?** _ ’s, not even the 7 ‘ **_ My day was boring, wished we could meet _ ’ ** s or the 3  _ ‘ **I miss talking to you** _ ’s. No, none of those had been tearing him apart as much as the last statement.

_ “ **Hello James,** _

_ **I am sorry to bother you. I understand that you don’t want anything to do with me anymore. Just… Can you tell me what I’ve done wrong so I won’t do that again?** _

_ **Yours Eddy** ” _

A low meow from Alpine helped him to not shatter completely. James hadn’t meant to hurt Edward. That was the point in keeping his distance for the time being. But obviously Edward got hurt. James needed to rectify that. 

Immediately, James got under his shitty showerhead and refreshed. He hadn’t much smart clothes but what he had he took good care of. He dressed in a brown leather jacket, a wine red long sleeve shirt and skin-tight black jeans. James just prayed he wouldn’t die of heat.

Before he left, a rather stern sounding meow let him crouch in front of Alpine, who butted her head against his hand but pawed at his trousers at the same time. 

Chuckling James patted and scratched her for a bit. When she had enough and left him to be still crouching in front of his front door, James realized how tense he had been before Alpine tricked him.

“You little minx. I love you, darling. Don’t destroy anything while I’m gone.”

The assassin was pretty sure that he didn’t imagine the undignified meep like sound Alpine did. As he turned the keys, successfully locking, he fired off his first response for days. 

_ “ **Edward,** _

**_I’m sorry, Sugar. Can we meet at our usual spot? Be there in 20._ **

**_J_ ** **_amey_** ”   
\----

When his phone pinged, Tony startled badly enough to scorch his fingertips.    
“AH FUCK!”

With a clatter, he let the blow torch fall to the desk and stuck his fingers in his mouth. Tony heard a low whirring sound and waved at DUM-E to put down the fire extinguisher. A sad beep let Tony smile despite the tingling pain in his fingertips. “Sir, the message is from James.”

As soon as JARVIS said that name, Tony’s shoulders tensed and his heart raced dangerously. “James?”

“Yes, Sir. Do you wish to read it in privacy or for me to read it out?”

“I’ll read it on my own.” Tony was aware of the shaking in his voice. He also was acutely aware of the dread filling him. All of his previous messages had been ignored. Finally, he got a response. Most likely one to tell him how horrible he was and that Tony should stop contacting James. Especially after his last message to James.

A trembling hand reached for his phone and unlocked it. His thumb hovered over the message button and only after sitting on a chair, did Tony dared to open it. 

Tony meant to just read it and throw the phone away. He hadn’t meant to stare at the rather short reply. But he couldn’t believe his eyes. James didn’t hate him. James didn’t want to never see him again. James was  _ sorry!  _ Slowly, cautiously, a warm feeling spread through him. James was  _ not _ disgusted by him or annoyed.

James wanted to meet him. In their usual spot.  _ James  _ wanted to meet him. James  _ wanted  _ to  _ meet him. _

“JARVIS!” Tony exclaimed when his brain computed the offer to meet and the time. “How long has it been since he sent that message?”

“Approximately 15 minutes, Sir.”

“15 minutes… 15 MINUTES?! Shit. I need to shower. Shut down the ‘shop, J!”

Tony never in his life had sprinted to his shower so fast and showered in under 5 minutes. Hair dripping, bread slightly too long, eyes shadowed by missed sleep Tony threw on the first clothes he could grab, namely a blue shirt, deep blue jeans, and red sneakers. He let the hairdryer blast full power on his hair and decided that half dry was as good as completely.

\-----

James had arrived early and now was waiting past the 20-minute mark. The assassin started to feel unsettled at the thought of Edward not coming. Just as he debated to turn back home, Edward’s voice carried over, “JAMEY! WAIT!”

Turning around, James smiled softly at the running figure. Edward nearly collided with him, but he reached out and steadied him. “Hi.”

James’ voice was soft and he felt relief spreading through him. It was not too late to mend their friendship, or whatever this was.

Over Edward’s face spread a wide happy smile. He tried to catch his breath, face flushed and hair curled widely. “Sorry. Needed to finish up in the ‘shop”

“Shop?”

“Ah, uhm…” Edward seemed to hesitate, so James tried to ease him with a nonchalant, “Doesn’t matter, if you don’t wanna tell me. I, uhm, I need to apologize.”

As an answer James got confused wide eyes and a barely titled head.

“I should have answered earlier. I was just swept in my… research.”

Understanding changed Edward’s face, and James wondered if the man knew how much an open book he was. “I get that! I tend to forget all those things like eating and sleeping when I’m in a real science binge! You have to tell me what kind of- sorry. I’m rambling again. You… Would you, by any chance, want to come inside?”

The taller man was confused at first, but focused on the invitation to enter the house. Because there was no doubt where Edward invited him into. “Wouldn’t Stark mind?”

“Nuhu. He’s, well, not home at the moment. Also, he has people over way too few/less. And you’re not there for him, right?”

Something like insecurity laced the last sentence and James didn’t want Edward feeling like that. Also, he wasn’t lying when he told Edward, “No, I’m here for you, doll.”

Great! Let’s go! I want to show you the ‘bots!”

\---------

James stared wide-eyed at the robot across from him. The robotic arm was equipped with a camera and wheels. Somehow there also were three metallic fingers, resembling a claw. Or a claw resembling fingers? Who was James to judge?

“Jamey, meet DUM-E, DUM-E, be nice, this is Jamey.” When Edward spoke to the robot as if it could understand him, James wasn’t prepared for it to react as if it had. Slowly DUM-E rolled forward, extending her claw. 

How James knew that this thing was a she, he had no clue at all. “Hello there. Nice to meet you, DUM-E.” His voice was tender, his eyes soft. He let his guard down for a bit and felt something akin to happiness. DUM-E beeped enthusiastically before she rolled away and more beeping noise was heard. Only for her to come back with an old baseball, nudging it against James' hand. “Uh?”

“She wants for you to throw it, play fetch with her. DUM-E, no! What have I told you about harassing our guests?! Not to do-”

James looked from the ball to the overexcited robot, who slowly seemed to become sadder with every word Eddy said. “It’s ok. I’d like to play a round or two. DUM-E” He waited a moment until DUM-E’s camera pointed at him, “Fetch!”, and threw the ball. James watched the robot roll hastily after the ball, beeping happily all the while. A slow smile spread over his lips. Easiness, calmness settled in his mind. It seemed that he would find a lot of first times in a long while thanks to Edward. When he risked a quick glance, he saw the other man’s jaw slightly slacked, the posture one of confusion, his eyes shining with disbelief. A short moment later, his face lit up, the sharp features softened, the eyes were framed by crinkles and shining warmly. A very soft upturn of the corners, a barely-there smile, played on those kissable lips. At that moment, James knew that he was a goner.

And kissing was what James did. Soft, sweet, unhurried. When Edward recuperated, James felt like he was happy for real. He felt Edward’s hand gliding beneath his jacket, letting James erupt in goosebumps. A soft throaty sound escaped Edward’s lips as James grabbed Eddy’s behind, pulling him in.

Before they could get to any more shenanigans, DUM-E poked James in the shoulder, hard. With a yelp, both men got some distance between them. 

“Ugh DUM-E, why?” 

As Edward complained, still so prettily flushed, a bit short of breath, James swore he would stay with him.

\---

They spent hours with the bots. Playing fetch, talking with them, even racing them at one point. Laughing, they both let themselves fall into the torn and tattered couch Tony had in his workshop. He felt exhilarated. It had been a long time since he felt like he could trust someone so much as he trusted James. Which also was terrifying. Looking at James, Tony realized how deeply he had fallen and wondered if he’d survive the heartbreak in the end. Still, his mouth was stupid and his brain-to-mouth filter often failed. “Date me.”

“Haven’t we been on more than some?”

If the situation wouldn’t be so damn miserable for Tony, he would have barked for laughter. As it was, he blushed softly and tried to force his racing heart back under control. Breathing in and out once, Tony steeled his resolve.

“I meant, dating like, you know. God this is hard. I mean, uhm. Like being together. At least trying to be.”

“Are you…” James needed a moment. It was what he thought of earlier, never leaving, staying with Eddy. “We, I’d. Yeah.”

“Yeah?” hopeful golden eyes looked up at him. 

Tenderly, James cupped Eddy’s chin, his smile as tender as his hands were careful, and he pressed a sweet smile to the other's lips. 

“Yes, I’d be happy to try.”

~~~ 

“Fuck… Jamey, fuck! Deeper! Shit!!! Tha- yeah there!”

Hearing Edward make such sweet sounds, cursing his name the same time as he was praising him, woke a possessiveness he hadn’t felt in so long. The pliant body, writhing with every other thrust, scrambling every time James decided to change position, manhandling the smaller man around. The corridor, then bedroom wall, then bed and now the floor, pushing and pulling him in different directions, having absolute control over his own and his partner’s pleasure, gave James a heady addictive feeling. He wanted to taste Eddy. He wanted to own him, every single part, and he wanted to be owned in return. Because Edward was so innocent and sweet. So calculating, yet naive. Beautiful inside as well as outside. He was something ethereal. Something a rotten being like him shouldn’t touch. Yet somehow, thanks to some miracle, James was allowed, invited even to do so much more than simply touch. Edward wanted him. 

Another thrust upward, hitting Edwards prostate for the nth time, brought the other man over the edge, crying out: “JAMEY!!!”, clenching around James’ dick and sinking his nails in James’ back, head thrown back, eyes closed blissfully. 

That image, probably even more than the stimulation, got James to release as well. With a soft moan of Edwards' name, he buried his face against Eddy’s neck, nibbling on the smaller male‘s collarbone, while hot stripes of release left his erection.

‘Yes…’, he thought later, lying beside a spent and smiling lover, ‘I’ll be damned if I don’t give him whatever he desires and won’t protect him with my last breath..’


	7. Haunting Past, Bright Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After they spent a wonderful night with each other James slipps out, but not before making breakfast.
> 
> Tony has a heart to heart with JARVIS.  
>  And James has a dream, which is more a memory than anything else.
> 
> Later the two have another date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **WARNING**
> 
> This chapter deals with Bucky being a Grade A+ Dick. He and Tony are getting drunk (in flashback) and Bucky coerence Tony into having sex and cheating on his girlfriend.
> 
> Title: The Kill-Shot, Chapter 7: Haunting Past, Bright Future  
> Collaborators: Fighting_for_Creativity (J_Gun_i)  
> Card Numbers: 3113  
> Square Filled: A5 GRRR: Tony works on Bucky's arm  
> Ship: WinterIron  
> Rating: explicit  
> Major Tags: Alcohol, Cheating(past), Dinner, Fluff, Identity Porn

The assassin slept better than he could remember ever doing. To sleep undisturbed and for as long as he had, a whole nine hours, was a miracle to James. He was grateful that he had been the first to wake, so Eddy hadn’t felt the tensing of his body as James was highly alert within a few seconds. 

The grey eyed man wasn’t sure how he could have explained that behavior away. It had already been a wonder that Eddy hadn’t been offset by the metal hand. He just had looked at James and breathily asked how far up it went. The question had been laced with wonder and reverence. Eddy’s face was so open and honest, James felt humbled when he had answered, ‘My whole arm, up to my shoulder, sugar’.

Eddy had proceeded their love making with undressing James completely, worshipping the scars, making James feel whole and special. He had later thanked Eddy by pulling him apart. In the dimly lit room, James carefully extracted himself from Eddy’s arms. The smaller brunet latched onto the closest pillow and cuddled it to his chest. It was one of the most adorable things James had ever seen. 

The assassin got dressed and made his way cautiously towards what he guessed was the kitchen. James knew that he couldn't risk staying long. He was aware that his fingerprints were here, and he needed to find his target somewhere where no one would know how or who did it. Still, the assassin thought of those wonderful, honest brown eyes, thought of the lithe man who had opened his heart to James, and couldn't care less how much more work he had made for himself. 

When he entered the kitchen he was amazed at the high quality appliances and the thick marble counter. He stood for a moment, taking in the luxury that was the kitchen and then went to work. James didn’t intend to stay much longer, but he was hell bent on making breakfast for Eddy to reassure him that James didn’t have any regrets.

When he was done, he pulled a pen and paper out of his pants pocket and scribbled a note.

_ Dear Eddy, _

__ _ Scrambled eggs and bacon are in the oven, I hope they’re not cold by the time you wake up. I need to get going, my cat’s probably terrorizing the neighbors with her loud meowing. She’s that kind of minx. Text me when you’re free to meet again. _

_ Yours, James _

He wasn’t sure if he really wanted to leave the note behind; he was a ghost to most people for a reason. But a selfish part deep in James wanted to be seen and heard and loved by Eddy, even if that meant risking everything he’d spent so long working for. Even if it meant he risked being caught.

_______

James had just arrived home when the text came through, the door closing behind him loudly. 

In an instant, Alpine was rubbing against his legs and pawing at him for food. He chuckled softly, feeling light and happy. “Gimme just a moment, Alpine. I’ll get ya yer food, sweetie.”

He hung his jacket over the only chair in his tiny apartment and got Alpine her chicken strips. Sure, James knew cats were supposed to have cat food, but he figured giving her raw meat once in a while wouldn't hurt her. Seeing as he made a pretty sum every kill, he wasn’t short on money to spoil his little demon with.

Once Alpine was settled, James took a quick shower, until he remembered how Eddy’s mouth had trailed down his chest and sucked on his nipples. After that his shower time extended a bit.

Finally, he settled behind his small desk, a folder with the data he had collected about Anthony Stark sitting in front of him. Before he got lost in his work, he checked the message he knew he’d gotten before.

“ _ Just saw your note and ate the food. Darling, you’re never allowed to find someone else. Those eggs were to die for. Marry me? Hope your cat is fine. BTW, why didn’t you tell me you have a cat? Can we meet again soon? I really wanna have a close up date with that arm of yours. Would you let me play a bit with it? :-)” _

A warm tingly feeling spread through his chest and he felt his cheeks heat. Eddy had no shame. ‘ _ But I love that about him- _ ’

When the thought registered in James’ brain, he startled. He was sure panic would set in and he would run. But, strangely, he was fine with it. 

A soft smile made its way onto James’ lips as he reread the message. He was sure Eddy didn’t mean the whole marrying thing, but…

“Maybe one day, Edward. Wouldn’t that be lovely. You, me, Alpine, and DUM-E, U and Butterfingers… a whole family… I’d love that…”

Alpine’s ears twitched when she heard her name, and James chuckled as she let out a questioning meep. “Nothin’, sweetie, just dreaming of a better life.”

The cat jumped on James’ lap. He carded his fingers through her soft fur and typed out a reply to Eddy. After he sent it, he wondered how he was going to find and kill Stark without involving or hurting Eddy.

-_____________

Tony was anxious when he woke up alone. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to ask JARVIS the dreaded question or not, but in the end he voiced his concern. “Is… Am I alone, J?”

“Your guest has left, sir, but you should go into the kitchen.”

Despite the fact that he’d expected to wake up alone, Tony was disheartened to hear that James was just like everyone else. ‘ _ He left as well, huh. Great. Why do I even- wait! _ ’

“J, what do you mean I should go into the kitchen?”

“Just go, sir. I am sure you will feel better when you do.”

His AI sounded a mixture of smug and encouraging. For a split second, Tony thought about staying away from the kitchen as long as possible just to spite him, but he knew his curiosity would kill him, so he threw on a loose shirt and pants and made his way into the kitchen. A place was set, the coffee prepared so that Tony just had to turn the machine on and a note rested neatly on the empty plate. Turning on the coffeemaker, Tony picked up the note. While he read, his eyes grew big and his heart skipped a beat.

James hadn’t left for good. James just needed to look after his cat. James wanted to see him again, to really date him. Tony was vibrating with happiness. Needless to say, he immediately got the eggs out and tried them straight out the pan. Groaning in pleasure, he devoured the whole portion and sighed blissfully when he was done. Tony wasn’t a breakfast person, but he could get used to this.

After his first coffee, he dictated a message to James. If JARVIS didn’t edit it because of how James had been the very first of Tony’s suiters to care enough for Tony to be allowed to see a glimpse of his true self, that was his secret.

Later, Tony found himself in his workshop, doing some actual work for the company when his phone chimed. Excited, he opened the text and nearly fell from his chair.

“ _ Honey, you put that sweet mouth of yours on mine and you can have as many close ups with my arm as you wanna. I’m glad you liked the eggs, but no dying for you. I usually don’t kill with food. It’s a bit early for us to talk about marriage, don’t you think? But… Maybe one day? Alpine was fine. Sitting on my lap as I write. I sure want to see you soon again. Tomorrow maybe? I have to work for a bit but in the evening I should be free. _

_ Looking forward to see you, sweetheart, _

_ James” _

Tony hated how squeaky his voice was as he sputtered, “JARVIS!”

“Yes, sir?” his AI sounded way too smug. ‘ _ Little shit is just like me. Ugh _ !’ __

“Nevermind. Am I free tomorrow?”

“I will check with Ms. Potts, but to my knowledge you only have the deadline for the new Stark tablet in three days.”

“Great, if Pepper doesn’t have anything for me, block tomorrow evening and the following morning. I wanna spoil James a bit.”

“Sir, Mr. Brown seems to be more down-to-earth than your usual partners. Perhaps you shouldn’t try your usual routine with him.”

This confused Tony. Never before had JARVIS interfered in his dating. At least not to this extent. He squinted at the closest camera. “J… since when do you interfere?”

“I may… feel this new partner of yours suits you well, sir. It has been a long time since I last saw you this excited and happy.”

That was unexpected. Unexpected and touching. Tony knew that his AI looked out for him. The engineer was aware of how often JARVIS prevented disasters from happening around Tony. JARVIS had in the past gotten rid of a few unwanted admires before they got close to Tony. He  _ knew _ that J cared about him, but having J’s approval despite the initial distrust warmed Tony, making him feel fuzzy and loved and whole.

“JARVIS…”

“Yes, sir?”

“Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

\------

As night fell, James found himself anticipating the next day. Edward had invited him over for dinner and a movie. His boyfriend even asked if James wanted to bring Alpine over, which James had to decline. ‘ _ Not yet… After I get rid of Stark, maybe I can settle down with Eddy… Well, Stark or Stane, the jury is still out on that, _ ’ thought the assassin darkly.

The information he had gathered warranted a reconsideration of the assignment. He knew Stane wasn’t a good guy from the get go - after all, good guys tend not to hire assassins - but James had initially been under the impression that Stark was just as bad. He’d spent his life making weapons and he had never seemed to care where they ended up or what they were used for. 

However, James’ research had taught him otherwise and James wondered how he will decide in the near future. For the moment he was content to placate Stane with some lies here and there and pretend that he was doing his best to find Stark while enjoying his time with Edward.

“C’mon, Alpine. Time to call it an early night. Litter done, food done, door locked. All done.” James listed off his usual evening chores while Alpine padded towards the bed. Smiling, James changed out of his clothes and into his only pair of sweatpants. Then he lay down, Alpine curled next to him, his fingers in her soft fur. Sleep soon found him. 

~~~Flashback/Dream~~~

_ James looked around. The room was dimly lit and the door and window were closed. He stood in what appeared to be a living room. There were framed pictures on the wall, the people in them mere shadows. One featured himself with a blond man and a young brunette woman.  _

_ Well, Bucky, not himself. That was when James realized this was a memory instead of an ordinary dream, but he was distracted from this realization when the door to the house opened. _

_ In stumbled Bucky, and behind him was... Eddy? No, not Eddy. Some details were different. This man looked so much younger and his eyes shone brightly. While Eddy’s hair was fluffy-looking and brown, this man's hair was a much darker brown - nearly black - with a slight curl and gel in it.  _

_ “Welcome to my home, Anton.” James’ eyes widened. This was Anton? This man was… Oh god. _

_ The man - Anton - smiled as he took a curious look around. “It’s homey. I like it, Bucky.” _

_ “Thank you.” A blush crept up Bucky’s face. James was intrigued how he was just a spectator to this but he couldn’t look away. Like being forced to look on instead of being a part of it, which was how his memories usually happened to him. _

_ “So, why did you ask me to come here? Something about Becca?” _

_ Bucky ducked his head, eyes averted from the smaller man before he pointed towards the couch. “Would you like to sit?” _

_ Anton nodded and sat, seemingly waiting for Bucky to do so as well. But Bucky stayed where he was, looking uncomfortably and twitching. After a bit Anton asked again, “What did you want to talk about, Bucky?” _

_ Heaving a sigh, Bucky deflected, asking, “You want a beer?” _

_ James watched as the men got drunk - or drunker, if Bucky’s already uncoordinated behavior was any indication. James blinked, and somehow he found himself in a different room. ‘Bedroom,’ he thought.  _

_ The door opened and Tony walked in tipsily, Bucky hot on his heels. “Soooooooo sish ish your bed… bedroom.” _

_ “Yeah, sugar.” _

_ “Shuga… huh… I’m with Becca, honey.” _

_ “God, I know. I know, Anton.” Bucky was much closer to Anton now. The door was locked, and the men stood mere inches apart. _

_ “Then I should- schould. You know. Not here. You an’ me that is.” _

_ “I know. I… Sugar, I love you.” _

_ A hollow laugh filled James’ ears. It sounded bitter and sad. “I’m with Becca now. Ish a little late.” _

_ “I’m so sorry. I… I should have called ya. Sugar, please.” _

_ “Whatcha want from me, Bucky?! I’m with… I’m with your sister now.” Despite his words, Anton leaned into the hand that cupped his face. James was suddenly aware what was going to happen. _

_ “One night, honey. One. The night I never got. Cuz I was afraid. One night so you and me get each other outta our systems. I saw you looking. I felt your touches. You’re not over me.” _

_ They gazed into each other’s eyes, and James felt the ghost of Anton’s fingers at the nape of his neck as he reached for Bucky and Bucky willingly moved into his touch. James felt the soft press of plush lips against his when Anton kissed Bucky and suddenly James wasn’t a spectator anymore. Suddenly he _ **_was_ ** _ Bucky, and he kissed Anton back fiercely.  _

_ Hands, two flesh hands, started to wander everywhere, cupping Anton’s firm ass, stroking his back, sliding under his shirt and caressing soft skin. The kiss was broken by a shuddering breath, and golden eyes stared into steel-grey ones. _

_ Bucky -  _ James  _ \- nipped at Anton’s jaw, and his hand tugged on Anton’s belt. He was about to open Anton’s jeans when Anton’s smaller hands rested on his, halting them in their quest. _

_ A questioning glance told Bucky he needed to give Anton a bit of space, and he took a small step back. “Sugar?” _

_ “I...I can’t,” the smaller man’s voice quivered. He looked torn, lost. Bucky’s heart broke just a little bit more. He gathered Anton in his arms, holding him close, hoping to comfort him. _

_ But Anton shivered and started to sob. “I can’t. Bucky I love her. I can’t do that to your sister. I can’t. I-” _

_ “Hush, honey. Hush. I know. I know how happy you make her. I know you two talked about moving in together. She all but bounced at that idea. Momma was annoyed. Becca loves you and I know you love her too. So much.” _

_ Bucky felt so horrible, but he was selfish here. He had wanted Anton from the day he laid eyes on him. He had wanted him, but was too afraid of his parents’ reaction to his love for a man, and the universe had punished him by letting his sister and Anton meet and fall in love.  _

_ He hated himself for his jealousy, but he couldn't let go of Anton. Not now, maybe never. _

_ “I know, but I’m so jealous. So selfish to want this. I love ya, honey. I love you so much. I can’t… please. Just once. Just tonight. No one but us will know. I need ya, honey. And… and you love me too. I see it. Please.” _

_ When Anton looked up again, his cheeks streaked with tears, lashes wet and face flushed, Bucky couldn’t help the gasp that escaped him. Anton, despite or because of his tears, was angelic to Bucky.  _

_ “One time?” Anton asked. _

_ “One time.” Bucky promised, knowing full well that he didn’t mean it. _

_ The scene changed again. James now was a spectator again. Anton sat on the edge of the bed, getting dressed, Bucky watching him with keen eyes. Before Anton left, he turned, only his head over his shoulder, hand on the handle, and said, “Remember, Bucky. Just this once. I can’t do this to Becca again.” _

_ James knew, as Anton left, that it wasn’t the last time they ended up like this. _

\---

James woke up hard and drenched in sweat. He knew there was a reason why he had forgotten Anton. He knew that Bucky had been callous in his quest for love. But to relive it in his dreams? James shuddered at the memory.

Slowly, more snippets of his past he had so securely locked away crept up on him. Flashes of how Becca had told the family she was pregnant. How Anton had asked for her hand in marriage. How Bucky had that very same evening gotten them both drunk and fucked the younger man. How Anton had said it was the last time, over and over again until he gave up claiming that. 

James felt dirty. Anton had tried to walk away from him. Tried to keep his distance.

“But I wouldn't let him. I was too jealous. I was too selfish to let Becca and him have their happy family.”

James knew he wasn’t going to sleep anymore, and therefore got dressed for a light jog. He covered 30 km before he returned, and that only because it was getting late enough that he needed to get ready for his dinner date.

~~~

Tony had woken in the middle of the night with his heart pounding and his throat dry, the ghost of a lover’s touch still on his chest and the taste of Bucky still on his tongue. It had been so long, why was he remembering this now? Why would the guilt of cheating try to crush him again now? Why did he cry for his lost lovers, both Barneses, Becca and Bucky. 

He had taken a shower, rubbing himself raw until JARVIS shut off the water and told him to get some coffee. For a short moment Tony had contemplated calling Rogers. Rogers always had some choice words for him, not that Tony held that against him. It was Tony’s fault, after all. If he hadn’t given in to the temptation that had been Bucky Barnes, both Bucky and Becca would still be alive. Tony was certain of that.

The engineer finished his coffee and got to work, losing himself in schematics and prototypes in order to suppress the feelings and memories which tried to choke him. Somewhere around lunchtime JARVIS reminded him that James would come over in six hours and that Tony had planned on buying supplies for one of the few recipes he was great at cooking.

Tony sent off the prototype specs to SI R&D and closed the workshop before he went out.

When the evening finally arrived, Tony had successfully locked away the dark thoughts and memories. He was appropriately happy -  _ Shut it, J, I’m not overexcited!  _ \- and got the food ready so that he only needed to heat it up when James got there. 

The doorbell rang at six sharp and Tony struggled to restrain himself from running to open it. With a bit more force than needed, he flung open the door and smiled brightly at James. “Hey, honey!”

A soft chuckle left the other man before he answered. “Hello, dear. I missed you.”

Tony could have stood and stared into those steel-grey eyes forever, but his phone vibrated and got his attention. “Ugh. I’m sorry. Come in. Get comfy. I uhm… cooked? I hope you like pasta?”

“It’s fine, Eddy. Get that call or whatever it is. I’ll get settled.”

“Thanks!” Tony rushed off, trusting James to close the door and find his way to the kitchen, which he did.

A few minutes later Tony came back to James, his face showing his annoyance. “S’ry. Stane wanted to check over some work for SI.”

For a brief moment James seemed to be paralysed, and Tony was afraid that him working for SI would put James off. If he reacted negatively to just that, him finding out ‘Edward’ was actually Tony Stark would be a catastrophe. 

Tony started to heat the food, keeping his back turned to James as he cautiously asked, “You’re alright?”

“I’m fine. Just not… Is it…” A sigh left James’ lips and it was quiet for a bit. Then he continued. “I didn’t know you worked for SI, or that you were high enough up for the CFO to contact you.”

“Comes with being related to Stark.”

“Ah.”

Tony bit his lower lip nervously. He wondered what that inflection in James’ tone was, but before he could worry about it too much, James spoke up again. “Say… I know you and Stark are related. But… I wondered. What kind of man is he? I mean the rags talk a lot about that fella, but there’s got to be more to him than they say.”

For a moment, Tony’s heart stopped. This could very well be a test, or it could be genuine interest. He proceeded with care while stirring the sauce. “Tony Stark is every bit the man the media says he is. But… He also isn’t. I know it sounds insane, but-”

“There’s a difference between his public image and the person behind it. I understand.”

‘ _ Huh. That… that is new _ .’ “Not many people do.”

“Because not many people get to know the man. I might not have met him, probably never will, but if you say he’s different from what the public thinks then I believe you.”

A blush graced Tony’s cheeks. He carefully poured the sauce into a sauce boat and brought it to their seats. Then he went back and dished up the pasta onto two plates, bringing those over as well. He did a quick mental check to be sure he’d got everything before he sat down himself. Only then did he continue their conversation. “If you… if you want, I could tell you more about him?”

The soft smile on James’ face made Tony’s heart pound wildly. “Later, maybe. Tonight is for us, Eddy. I was wondering, you said you wanted to have a close up with my arm, and I’ve been having some trouble since I maybe punched a wall today…”

“Why did you punch a wall? Did you run into it? Happens all the time, no reason to punch walls.”

The judgemental eyebrow told Tony that it was not normal to run into walls. ‘ _ Figures. _ ’ 

“I was frustrated and had a bad night. Some uncomfortable things at work and such. Went for a jog and couldn’t get the frustration under control, so I punched a wall.”

“Oh. Ok.” Tony blinked for a while. His eyes took in the nervous twitching and fidgeting of James’ right hand, fork twirled between index finger and thumb. 

After a minute or two James put the fork down and locked eyes with Tony, cocking his head to the side as he asked, “Will you?”

“Hm?”

“Will you take a look and see if you can fix whatever is wrong?”

Feeling like a total douche, Tony nodded and shook his head while babbling, “Sure. I mean, not that I know much about tech, but that lovely arm of yours, I could jerk off to that. Not that I do that. I mean, that would be really awkward because it’s actually your arm. But the arm! It’s tech and I love tech and I’m definitely going to shut up now.”

Tony felt his cheeks heating and dodged James’ gaze, staring stubbornly at his plate.

James meanwhile tried and failed to suppress a laugh. Soon enough the man’s laugh filled the room, which prompted Tony to look up. ‘ _ God, he’s gorgeous when he laughs. _ ’

“I’ll take that as a yes. Thank you, Edward. Really, thank you. Do you want to eat, or is the food just decoration?”

Tony blushed further, though he couldn’t tell if it was out of embarrassment for the not eating or because of the honest thanks. “Well, honey,” he said. “Dig in.”

~~~

They both ate their fill before migrating towards Tony’s workshop. James got out of his shirt and Tony was very tempted to get naked as well. Thankfully, James had more self-control and after a few heated kisses he growled, “Better fix the arm so that I can thank you probably, honey.” 

Tony got to work. As he immersed himself in the work, he started to coo over the beautiful arm and marveled at the technology hidden inside. Sure, he realized that there were various weapons hidden in it and that the arm itself could also be used as one. Sure, he had seen the knives taped inside James’ shirt. But he didn’t want to think about why. 

Soon enough, Tony had managed to find the broken parts and luckily for both of them he had some spare parts that could replace them lying around. He couldn't help himself, though, and started in on some maintenance. Cleaning the gears. Oiling the joints. Swapping some cables with thinner, lighter ones. 

When he was done, James looked baffled for a moment before Tony was kissed heatedly. A breathless, “Thank you,” and, “it’s not hurting anymore,” accompanied James’s lips when he traced Tony’s jawline to his earlobe and sucked on it.

The two didn’t watch any movies that night.


	8. Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DUM-E just wanted to help.
> 
> A simple action unearthed more about James than JARVIS had hoped to come by. 
> 
> Tony doesn't take the news well.
> 
> All considered, though, it could be worse, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #### Chapter Warning
> 
> mentioned suicide, mental breakdown, cheating (mentioned), a lot of crying
> 
> That being out of the way, welcome back to the second-last chapter. Yep, second last. I decided to have the grand conclusion split into two parts, not because of the length of the chapters, but because of the emotional package. Hope you guys are prepared. Despite the humorous note at the beginning, it's mostly an emotional roller coaster.
> 
> Plenty thanks to my adorable Peach! At a few parts, I really stuck or missed the tone I was going for. Thank you [Peach](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EachPeachPearPlum/pseuds/EachPeachPearPlum)

When DUM-E saw JAMES’s phone beep to warn that the battery was low, DUM-E did what DUM-E did best: she helped. She rolled over to the discarded clothes and picked JAMES’s pants up, then rolled back to the charging station and nudged one of JARVIS extendable arms. Why her younger brother got all the nice things, DUM-E didn’t understand.

With a gentle brush of code, her brother helped her out and reached into the trousers, scolding her for snooping in other people's things. DUM-E couldn’t help but feel smug when JARVIS plugged the phone in, despite having lectured her about snooping. DUM-E knew JARVIS was still unsure about JAMES, and he would go through the phone despite scolding DUM-E for her curiosity.

Satisfied at being helpful, because the poor phone doesn’t deserve to be empty, DUM-E returned to her ‘sleep’ mode.  
\--

JARVIS was torn. He shouldn’t do what he was about to do, but his priority was his father's safety, and James’s background check came back with one too many blank spots. So he did what he felt was right. He followed his primary directive: ‘ _Protect Sir_ ’  
\--

“Sir...” JARVIS sounded urgent and sad at the same time, which alarmed Tony greatly.

“What is it, J?”

It was the morning after the day which had ended with him and James on the workshop couch, limbs entangled and bodies slotted together. Tony was in desperate need of a leak though and had woken James while getting up. James looked haggard, and Tony told him to go back to bed. The engineer hated to see James leave, but he could definitely appreciate his boyfriend’s bare backside.

When Tony finished his business, he fully intended on joining James. That was until JARVIS spoke up.

“I have some news regarding James.”

“What? What is it? What happened? Is he alright? Do I-”

“Sir, do you remember what you told me about the background search?”

Tony blinked. The panic he had felt a mere minute ago vanished, replaced by confusion and dread. “Yes.”

“I found something vital.”

And J told him. He told him of James’s profession. Of what James had been after while sneaking around the house. _Who_ had ordered the hit. Hot salty tears streamed down Tony’s face when he finally made all the connections. He crumpled to the floor, his bots beeping worriedly and huddling around him, when _finally_ everything - _the way-too-many knives; the ready to bolt attitude; the tenseness when they talked about Stane; the interest in Tony Stark which seemed off_ \- clicked into place. JARVIS didn’t even have to tell him before he shakingly whispered, “James… James Buchanan Barnes.”

“Face recognition system says as much, Sir. I am sorry.”

This, _this_ was so typical of him. He would never have his happy ending. Back then, he fell in love with someone who ruined him and Rebecca. Everyone after had used Tony in one way or another, and now he fell in love again, with the same person who had first stamped on his heart and then possessed every fiber of him.

Not only was James his _Bucky_ , he also was sent to kill Tony. Maybe he honestly didn’t know Tony used to be his Eddy, or maybe he was just playing with him out of some residual feelings from their shared past. The brunet wasn’t sure which option devastated him more.

After a while, Tony’s tears dried and his trembling stopped. He braced himself on DUM-E, shooting his girl a watery smile. “Thanks, honey.”

The bot’s sad beep told Tony that he wasn’t fooling anyone. Righting himself, Tony went to another of his bedrooms, pulling out one of his sharpest suits and starting to dress up.

“Sir? May I inquire as to what your plan of attack is?”

“You may, J. But it’s simple, really.”

“Sir? You should wait until you’re calmer bef-”

“The plan is attack.”

  
\---

James had shuffled upstairs to Eddy’s room like his boyfriend had told him. ‘ _Boyfriend… what a wondrous thing._ ’ James had been filled with a pleasant warmth and a giddy feeling when that thought crossed his mind.

At first, the assassin had planned to wait for the smaller brunet, but after sitting on the soft duvet and smelling the comforting smell of Eddy, he couldn’t help but feel drowsy and finally nodded off.

He dreamt of various moments with Anton, who swapped between Eddy and Tony Stark during the dream, leaving James confused and exhausted upon waking. He tensed when he felt eyes on him.

\--

Tony swore he had wanted to maim, maybe even kill the assassin. The engineer had gone into his bedroom fully intending to get rid of the threat before it could hurt him.

But… Once he got there, once he saw James sprawling on Tony’s bed, hair framing his peaceful face, metal arm outstretched as an invitation for someone - for _Tony_ \- to join him, the scars littering his lover’s body, all that stopped Tony in his tracks. Instead he stood there, watching James sleep.

With every breath, every heartbeat that passed, Tony felt his anger dissipate. The scars he had paid no attention to previously were now the evidence that James had suffered. Heck, the whole metal arm was proof of that. Tony had repaired the most recent damage, as well as some of the long-standing issues with it, and the pain James had been in before then must have been atrocious, given the way his body had sagged the moment Tony managed to deactivate the sensitivity during repair.

‘ _What happened to you, James? Why didn’t you come back to me?_ ’ With that thought, the low, simmering fear of rejection returned, and frustration at his inability to hurt the one person who had thoroughly ruined Tony festered inside him.  
\----

Looking around, he saw Eddy and smiled softly, but before James could say something, like inviting Eddy back to the bed, Eddy spoke up, “You’re finally awake again, Mister ‘ _I’m way too gorgeous but also have far too many knives stashed in my clothes to be a civilian_ `. ”

Something was off about that voice. Eddy was always warm and caring. The man himself tasted like honey and home. Tender and loving towards his bots and towards James. ‘ _So why does he sound like I’m disgusting?_ ’

His mind was trying to process what had happened before he’d been rendered unconscious. After a couple of minutes, which he used to get into a sitting position, he looked at Eddy in confusion. The other man still stood a good distance away, arms crossed, face set into hard lines, wearing a suit worth thousands and looking a lot like-

“What game are you playing, James?”

“I don’t understand, Eddy. What do you-”

“Oh c’mon. Don’t play dumb with me. I must admit, fooling me for as long as you‘ve done is impressive.”

“Eddy?”

“Fine… we can do it the hard way, James Buchanan Barnes.”

Shocked, James felt all his happiness, fear, and confusion ebb away. In their stead, a mild panic tried to rise, only to be stumped by nothingness. Relying heavily on his training, James tried to stay level headed.

After a while, Eddy continued to speak, his voice getting louder with each word until he flat out screamed, “What the actual fuck? Here I was hoping you’d never heard that name before… Stupid me… Fuck… James, what the hell?! DO YOU KNOW HOW FREAKING HURT I WAS WHEN STEVEN CAME TO ME, TELLING ME THAT YOU’D DIED? THAT BECCA COMMITED SUICIDE AFTERWARDS??? YOUR BEST BUDDY BLAMED ME!! HELL, I BLAMED MYSELF!”

“How… how do you know all this?” The assassin didn’t know how to process that Edward obviously knew about his sister's death- knew of his sister and his friends. “How do you know Stevie? Why would you blame yourself?” James was too confused to do anything about the situation.

“You’re kidding me?!” Disbelieving eyes searched James’s face and his eyes for confirmation, or whatever else it was Edward needed at that moment. It didn’t matter, as in the next moment the strong, beautiful man, the man James had come to desire, to want, to need - _the man James had fallen hopelessly in love with_ \- collapsed to the floor. Tears ran freely down his face, accompanied by uncontrolled sobs.

“God… James… Bucks… twelve years… it’s been twelve years and you’ve forgotten me… Forgotten your little sister’s boyfriend who got her pregnant. Forgotten the asshole who cheated on her with you. Forgotten Anton Carbonell, the man who loved you and was willing to risk everything else to have a chance with you.”

A feeling not unlike the way THEY used to dunk him in icy water in the name of training and experimenting washed over James. His confusion finally lifted, things finally meshing, pieces clicking into place to complete the jigsaw that had been his life for so long now.

“Oh… oh god… Sugar? You… you’re really… Oh my… I-Anton- Eddy I’m… what? Just what?!” Now it was Bucky’s- James’s - turn to cry. Because if that was the truth, if Anton really was still alive, the loneliness, the years of pain and nothingness, had been nothing more than wasted time. He could have been with the man he would give up the world for, had given up the world for, in fact.  
______________

Neither man knew how to handle the situation. Both were lost in their agony and confusion, in sorrow and regret for the lost time and hurt caused. James thought that Ed- that _Tony_ would surely call the cops now, would throw him out, would never want to have anything to do with him anymore.

But nothing like that happened. Instead, they stared at each other, hearts filled with all the loss and love.

Somehow, Tony found himself clinging to James, his arms around him, pressing himself as close as possible to his lost lover’s bare chest. A white noise rang in his ears, making him unable to think straight. The billionaire didn’t care for the suit he was ruining. He didn’t care for how wrong it was to still love this man. All Tony could care about was that if he was going to die, he wanted to give in to the desire and love he felt for James.

Quietly, his voice not betraying the fear he felt, Tony says, “Make love to me, James. Make love to me before you leave again.”

Tony wanted to say _before you kill me_. _Before you once again tear out my heart, maybe even literally this time,_ but he couldn’t bring his lips to form the words.

The engineer could feel James’s shaking against him, and wondered whose shaking it really was. Slowly, their bodies became steady again, the white noise in Tony’s ears finally gone, and that was when Tony heard James’s words.

“I’m so sorry. I never wanted to leave. I didn’t. I wanted to be with you. Anton, Eddy… Tony… I love you, I love you so much. Don’t make me leave. I beg you, sugar. I’ll go, I swear I will, but don’t make me leave now. Let me get rid of your enemies, use me- I’m sorry. I am so-”

“Don’t leave. Make love to me, James.”

They stared into each other eyes, grey-blue meeting brown gold. Tony could see the emotions in James’s eyes. Fear and love and self-loathing all battling with each other. Tony thought that his own weren’t much different.  
\--  
James took the risk, he needed to. Steeling himself, he reached for Tony’s face, drawing him in even closer until their lips met, eyes fluttering shut. He put all his feelings into the soft touch and was overjoyed when Tony grabbed him, stopped him from pulling away, instead only deepening the kiss.

When their need for air was too strong, the brunets parted, but not so far as to put real space between them. Tension was still high between them, but the immediate feeling of having to flee had gone. Still, the assassin needed to address their situation.

“Ed- Tony… I won’t sleep with you now. Not tonight. I… from what I remember, that was our to-go-to method when either of us tried to end it. ‘One last time’-”, James scoffed. “It never was the last time. So I won't do it this time. We… we need to talk. You seem to know more than I do? Is there a way for us to be together?” James looked forlornly at Tony, waiting for the smaller male’s verdict.

The smaller man hesitated. “I- fuck I don't know what to do, James. You're here, alive, and asking me to tell you what to do? What was that shit about taking care of my enemies and about all the other things? What about _you_?”

“I don't know what you mean. What about me?

“James”, Tony started softly, “What happened to you? What do you remember?”

James startled and he looked taken aback by Tony’s inquiry. Both of them were silent for a while until James cleared his throat and brokenly started his tale. “Not, not much. There… I remember that I gave up because Anton- well you- and Becca were being threatened. I only recently remembered knowing you as Anton. Also… what I did to Becca and you. I don’t deserve this- your love. Never did. But I was selfish and greedy, I hurt you two. And- I don’t remember how they got me, only that they got me. They… did this-” The assassin lifted his metal arm at that before continuing, “-and something else to me so that I heal faster, can punch harder, run faster… I’m not… not human anymore. After a few years, I managed to escape. I remember hearing- you, you were always with me. I’d hear you whispering ‘I love you Soldier’ I think… it was a joke between us, back then. Can’t remember why though.”

James paused again, eyes far away and yet focused on Tony, pleading with the engineer to understand and to forgive him. To be his anchor once more. Tony choked up. The smaller man’s hand reached for James’s, tangling their fingers together and stroking over James’s thumb with his own.

“The years after I escaped, I tried to piece myself together again. I figured out some things, like having a sister and a best friend. I remembered his name, and then there was still your voice, haunting my every waking moment, and I even heard you when I was asleep. But… It was nice, your voice with me. Sometimes it was all that kept me going. Knowing that there was someone at some point in my life who had loved me. I tried for some normal jobs, but no one liked to hire a person with amnesia and no record. So...” A helpless shrug ended the tale.

“So you did the thing they trained you to do.” Tony wasn’t sure why he said it, maybe just so he had something to say. His thoughts were a whirlwind of _what did they do to you? Who are they?_

Barely visible behind the curtain of his hair, James nodded.

More time passed, in which Tony tried to process what James had told him. When he finally processed all the information, his free hand reached for James’s hair, gently pushing it out of the grey-eyed man’s face, making it possible for them to lock eyes again.

“I can try to fill in some of the blanks if you want me to-”

“Please!”

With a bittersweet smile adorning his lips, Tony finished his sentence, “And then we can figure everything else out. Ok?”

“...Yes.”

Drawing in a deep breath, Tony sighed, and said, “Our story started similar to this time. We bumped into each other- well, you saved my skinny ass back then…”

Tony talked and talked. Unlike all the other times he’d thought about his past with James, his heart didn’t clench and the usual grief and pain didn’t come. While the beginning was still difficult to get out, by the time he was talking about the last time they saw each other back then and how everyone found out about James being ‘dead’, the words simply spilled from his lips.

“It was mine and Becca’s wedding day. We waited for you, you were supposed to bring the rings, but you never came. And… and we called you, and then some police officers came and- shit, sorry…” Tony barely felt the tears spilling down his cheeks before they were swept away by James. “They told us your car had been found totaled, that it had gone off some bridge. They said you were dead. We didn’t marry that day or any day after. Becca got so depressed, and… I wasn’t any better.

“I did a lot of shit, like drugs and alcohol, to forget I guess. I went away for a while, trying to leave before I hurt Becca more. Steve visited me while I was in rehab. He had a letter in his hand. It was a letter you wrote but never sent. A letter in which you told me how sorry you were. How much you loved me. How you weren’t going to come to the wedding, but that you’d make sure we get the rings. That you would bow out and wouldn’t come for me anymore. That you couldn’t keep doing this, not to Becca or to me.”

“I… don’t remember that.”

“It’s- well, no, it’s not ok, but it’s ok that you don’t remember it. Becca found it, and she was just- well, you know what happened, and then when Steve found her with the letter… You see, between that and the police deciding it was your suicide note and closing the investigation into your death, Steve decided the accident was my fault, and I- I struggled to see how it wasn’t. Lost myself in the bottle more often than I’d like to admit. Whored myself through high-society, and in the end, I was too fucked up to see the damage my own company was doing.”

“Not your fault.”

Tony wanted to argue that point because if he hadn’t done all the drugs and booze he would have noticed sooner, but the hard edge in James’s voice stilled him. Instead of arguing, he asked, “Who were they?”

“It doesn’t matter. I killed them when I escaped.”

The ruthlessness in James’s voice should have frightened Tony. Instead, a feeling of satisfaction settled delicately in him. That’s when Tony realized that he would find a way to make it work between them again. He wouldn’t lose James a second time, not if Tony could help it.

Maybe that’s the reason why he blurted out, “Good. Stay with me, then! We can figure everything out, just stay with me this time, James.”

James’s eyes glided over Tony’s face, taking in how honest and serious the smaller man was, and with the softest and brightest smile Tony had ever seen on James’s face, the taller man replied, “From now ‘til forever. I’m yours as long as you’ll have me, Tony.”


	9. Is This It?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The most careful plans can be laid astray if one or two factors aren't as they seem.
> 
> That is something both Tony and Bucky have to learn once more.
> 
> Hopefully for the last time.
> 
> Who knows? Maybe this time old wounds can finally begin to heal, for everyone concerned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ##### WARNING
> 
> -violence, threatening with a gun, discussion of violence, discussion of killing, betrayal, lots of emotions, accidental killing
> 
> yes, dear readers, this it is, the end.
> 
> I had plenty of fun writing this and even though it diverged from my original plan of 8 chapters and slightly different end, I'm happy how it turned out.
> 
> Peach, darling, the light of my life, without you these past few chapters wouldn't have happened as they did.  
> You're a fabulous beta and a sweetheart!
> 
> Shut out to all those lovelies who commented:  
> Geek007  
> Politzania  
> LimeOfMagicLimo  
> dominique1 
> 
> Your feedback and love kept me going!

Their emotional turmoil had left both men tired enough to rest for a few more hours. When they finally got out of bed and ultimately out of the bedroom, Tony was once more dressed in a sharp suit, something James realized was his own kind of battle armor. James had borrowed sweatpants and a muscle shirt, both clinging snuggly to his hips.

Even though it was irrational and plain emotional nonsense, wearing Tony’s clothes made the assassin feel like he was being hugged by Tony constantly. That feeling alone helped him to stay calm when Tony gave him his phone back - and Bucky was both angry and relieved that DUM-E had taken his phone; if the bot hadn’t done that, they would never have found out about the truth behind… well, everything.

However, when he got his phone again, he had three missed calls and one new message. He knew immediately who they were from, as there were only two people with this burner phone’s number.

Anger coursed through his veins. This person was the reason Bucky had nearly lost everything once again. That man was- ‘ _No, James. This is your own fault. You decided to take the assignment, you decided to not search harder for Anton! It-’_

A warm hand on his cheek made him blink in confusion until he realized whose hand it was. “Ed- I mean-”

Tony’s brown eyes shone with so much tenderness and love that James choked on his question. “Hey there, soldier. Call me whatever you like. Tony, Eddy, Anton, take your pick. I was your Anton first, after all. Still, what’s got you so angry?”

Your Anton. _Your_ Anton. _Your Anton!_ God, how those two little words made James’s heart race in his chest, and his eyes sting with tears. He could feel the confusion radiating off of Tony, as Tony’s hand came into contact with a lone tear. Before either could say something, James scooped the smaller man up, bringing their lips into contact. 

The kiss they shared was everything. Hurried and slow; rough and tender; passionate and chaste, simply everything, changing by the minute and conveying so many feelings. James’s head span as he tried to understand them. 

“Yes,” James whispered against kiss-swollen lips, “you’re mine. My Anthony Edward Stark, mine. And I am yours. Your James Buchanan Barnes. Nothing else should matter anymore. Because we have each other, we can make it through anything.”

“Yeah…” Tony’s voice was rough, layered with arousal and thick with emotion. The smaller brunet nearly losing himself in the steel-grey blue of his lover. “What.. erm.”

James sighed softly when he remembered Tony’s first question. Only a dull echo of the same anger from before flowed through him when he opened the text message and read out loud, 

“‘ _This is taking an awfully long time, Soldier. I expected better from you. Why is that brat still alive? Finish him, or I’ll have to cut your payment.’”_

Tony was unnaturally still. James, despite trying to remember everything from before, was already quite familiar with the genius’s fidgeting. When Tony finally released a deep breath, it was as if someone had unpaused a movie. Shoulders drawn back, hands and jaw clenched, a tension palpable to James settled into his younger lover. 

Before he knew what was happening, Tony strode away from him and towards an impressive console. “JARVIS, you heard James. Let’s start Operation Spring Cleaning. Give me everything you can get on him. And… don’t hold back. I don’t care how you acquire the information.”

“Gladly, Sir.”

Tony squinted at that, looking to the side before quipping, “You sound awfully happy about this, J. Do you really want to get rid of me that much?”

“Never, Sir. It is only that I’ve waited a long time for an opportunity like this.”

James closed in on Tony, looking over his shoulder interestedly. “Whatcha doin’?”

Neither man missed the shudder which went through Tony’s body at the soft Brooklyn lilt. “Bringing Stane to his knees. Something JARV has wanted to do for years now. I just…”

~~~

Although Tony’s voice had been sure and strong when he began, he trailed off, suppressing a sob. For years, Tony had trusted Stane with everything. Even when he couldn’t trust his parents about his girlfriend’s pregnancy because he just knew Howard would have thrown a fit, maybe threatening Becca into having an abortion, Tony had known - had _believed_ \- that Stane would support him. Stane had always had his back.  
  
‘ _At least, I thought so… Maybe he’s always been working against me. God, I feel so-' “_ Fucking stupid. That’s what I’ve been.”

Tony didn’t realize he had said those words out loud, not until James put his arms around him and hugged him close, his nose and mouth softly nudging Tony’s neck. “Not stupid, sugar. Just alone. I’ve read up on ya. Tony Stark that is. And Tony Stark’s always been alone, haven’t ya?”

Swallowing a harsh retort, Tony concentrated on the tone of the voice, the softness of the lips, and the comfort of the hug. “Your point?”

“Point is, with… everyone gone, even the last few friends not around much, no one in your shoes would have seen the difference between a healthy and carin’ relationship and a destructive and dangerous one.”

“Well, apparently my AI did-”

“Your JARVIS and the bots are on the outside, so they were able to see things you couldn’t. You haven’t been stupid, just so endless lonely, and I’m at fault for that. And- no, don’t, don’t take away the blame. Let me talk. If I hadn’t been such a selfish dick back then, maybe a few things would have been different. If I’d just remembered you sooner, really remembered you instead of just a shadow, your eyes haunting me and your voice giving me hope and strength to go on… If I had been a bit stronger, none of this would have happened. But they have, Tony, they have. And now we have to build our life from the ashes again. I’m more than willing to do that with you.”

Tony wasn’t used to so much silence around him, and somehow it was exactly what he needed at that moment. Slowly, hesitantly, he relaxed more and more into James’s arms and closed his eyes for a bit. He felt like he was drowning and yet soaring through the sky. A feeling which motivated him to say, “Maybe we’re both just idiots… We can’t know what would have happened if things had been different. What’s important is now. Thank you, Bucky. We have to get Stane out of the way, and then we can build ourselves a life together again. This time for real.”

They both stood in silence, thinking through each other’s words for a moment before Tony addressed JARVIS. “What’s the status, J?”

“I’ve gotten through the past 2 years of encrypted files on Stane’s SI issued devices, Sir. I’m currently trying to get into his personal ones without being detected.”

“Fine. Keep as low a profile as possible. We don’t want to alert him before we have enough proof to get rid of him.”

“Will do, Sir. And if I may?”

“Hm?”

“I find myself agreeing with Mr. Barnes. You couldn’t have seen it yourself, Sir. Humans have incredibly large blind spots when it comes to the people they love. And you are still human, Sir, however much you would like to pretend otherwise.”

James chuckled softly into Tony’s neck, while Tony sputtered and cursed his cheeky AI.

Huffing in annoyance but secretly pleased, Tony turned in James’s arms, winding his own around the assassin. “So, darling, what are we going to do with you?”

Bucky’s response was a confused expression, which startled an honest laugh out of the engineer. They put some distance between them, and Tony wandered to the workshop couch. A light blush dusted his cheeks when he remembered James’s and his first night they spent together there, and the last night as well, before he let himself fall into a seat and patted the one next to him. “Come here. We need to discuss a lot of things and- Oh my God, I can’t believe it.”

With those words, Tony whipped his phone out and started typing rapidly. When he finished, he looked back up, only to realize that James still stood rather awkwardly by the console.

“Tony?”

“Sorry. Just remembered that you have a cat! I ordered some cat stuff, so the little queen will be happy here.” Tony interrupted himself, the moment he saw James’s face drawn in horror.

“Uhm.” Insecure about his choice, Tony tried to backpedal, “That is, if you and Alpine want to move in with me. You totally don’t have to! I mean, why would you really, right? We only had like three dates, and I kinda screwed up the morning after big time- and we’re practically strangers and this isn’t some kind of romance novel or Disney movie or even-”

“Tony!”

Tony closed his mouth with an audible click sound. A few seconds passed before James’s face became tender, a miniscule nod to himself, and then he spoke up, “I’d love to move in with you. But not before we settle everything. I have too many enemies out there, pissed off too many powerful people, and when they find out that I’m the Winter Soldier, not even my reputation will be enough to keep you safe. After we’re done with Stane, I’ll have to go for a few-”

Before Tony knew what he was doing, he found himself in James’s arms again. “Don’t. Don’t leave me again so soon.”

The engineer didn’t care if Bucky thought he was being clingy or desperate, because honestly, he was both. Desperate to not be left alone again; clingy because he was afraid James would still go. 

“Tony I-”

“No! You just promised, James! You promised _together_!”

~~~

Somehow, James found himself a few steps away from Tony, shaking with fear and anger at his recklessness. “Stop. Tony, stop. I just got you back as well! I couldn’t live with myself if my enemies hurt you! Let me handle them first. Please. I want to come back to you without you having to worry for your life and-”

“I know this is a very inappropriate moment to interrupt, and I deeply regret that I have to do so, but-” JARVIS sounded anything but regretful for interrupting, in James’s limited experience with the AI “-there are some interesting things about Stane you might want to look through immediately. Also, Mr. Barnes, I think you would like to at least introduce us to the aforementioned Alpine? Perhaps she’ll find our home to her liking.”

‘ _Am I being bullied in getting Alpine over now?_ ’ James wondered briefly before he smiled softly. “Fine. We’ll figure something out, sugar. I’ll get Alpine, let her sniff around here for a while, maybe let her stay with ya while I go and hunt down anyone who knows my face.”

James heard Tony huff, and saw him prepare to start a long-winded speech, but before the shorter man could get into it, James pressed a sweet kiss to his forehead and was gone.

\---

James worried about the immediate future but also was giddy and couldn’t quite believe his luck. Finally, it seemed he would find some peace and happiness, both of which were things he had thought a lost case. It hadn’t set in just yet how twisted their past was, and how twisted it was that they dared to hope for a happy ending after all the pain they had caused, particularly James. But still, knowing that Anton was Eddy who turned out to be Tony Stark - and that was a thought he still needed to wrap his head arou- 

James froze. Something wasn’t right. He could feel it like a sixth sense, warning him about _something_ in his close vicinity. With caution and the agility he had acquired over the years, James changed his route, taking a longer, more winding one, until he felt a tiny bit less on edge and ready to get back to his apartment.

Arriving at the building, James’s blood turned cold. Taking two steps at a time, he raced towards his door, soon seeing the evidence to support his foreboding feeling. His door was left ajar, the light turned on. James had locked it, he didn’t make basic mistakes like that. 

Slowly, he crept closer, a knife in his metal hand, ready to block any assault and to counterattack right after. 

Pushing the door open revealed his apartment in disarray. The few things he had there were strewn around, the cat food bowl tossed over, some of the floorboards ripped up. Whoever had been here had tried to find something, and they were in a hurry when they did it. Checking his small bathroom, he found even more chaos but no intruder. A flash of worry came over him when he started to look for Alpine. Thankfully, he soon found her under the bed.

“Darling, it’s safe now. I’m here.” Coaxing his cat from under the bed provided to be harder than he thought it would be. Finally, the white furball padded to him, a meow that was a mix between distressed and relieved accompanying her movement.

“I know. ‘m sorry. Never leaving you alone for so long again. Promise. Hey, you know I told ya about Eddy. The fella I like? How about we go to him now, hm? He said he’d like to meet you, has ordered all kinds of stuff for you. Said you’re a queen. Probably gonna spoil you rotten. How do ya like that?”

“Meow~”

Maybe James was too relieved about his Alpine being seemingly unscratched, but he thought that she sounded rather pleased by the notion of being called a queen. Smiling softly, he scooped up the feline and searched through his apartment one last time, securing all evidence against him, mostly his weapons, which he was surprised to find still there, and the few papers he possessed.

Problem with that was, he couldn’t find the envelope with Stane’s writing on it. “That…. that means… _Fuck_!”

Cold dread spread through his whole body. He needed to get to Tony, immediately.

~~~

Even with Alpine and all his belongings on his motorcycle with him, James was fast. He knew he could trust Alpine to hold on, and his duffle bag was mostly filled with weapons and papers, so it wasn’t too much weight. What posed a problem was the message he received shortly before he arrived at Tony’s home.

“ _Use the back entrance. I’ll open it. Hurry. J~”_

With the message came a picture of a wall James recognized as the fence and the place where he had run into Tony one time before a date. Making his way there, he found the wall sliding open just as he reached it and closing immediately behind him. He didn’t need to walk for long to get to the workshop. 

Before he could say anything, JARVIS lit a screen, showing James what was occurring in the living room.

~~~

Tony couldn’t believe that they had been so stupid. Deleting Stane’s override codes should have been the very first action he took. No, instead he snooped around Stane’s data drives and spent ages talking to James. ‘ _Where is that genius when you need it, idiot?!’_

Funny how staring down the barrel of a gun - ‘ _a fucking Stark gun, thanks douchebag!_ ’ - put a lot of things into perspective.

“You know, my boy, if you kept doing what I wanted you to do, what you were always destined to do, we wouldn’t be standing here now.” Stane’s voice was the same as it always was, but somehow this time Tony finally could hear the patronizing tone, could finally see behind the caring mask. Maybe it was because he finally stopped choosing to ignore it.

“Well, you know me, never one to take orders.”

A theatrical sigh left Stane, gun not wavering from its target. “You know, I really hoped you’d come around. See it my way, be the heir Stark Industries needed. But, apparently, that hope was in vain. I’m sorry, Tony, my boy, I can’t risk waiting any longer. The board is getting cold feet, complaining that SI will be ruined if you don’t change your mind. It pains me to do this, but you are a hindrance now.”

Tony couldn’t keep from scoffing at him. When Stane raised an eyebrow in question, the scoff turned to a hollow laugh. “That’s rich, Obie. Especially knowing that you hired a hit on me.”

“Ah, so that’s why he didn’t respond. You got rid of him, I assume?”

Although Tony wanted to tell him to fuck off, tell him who James really was, he kept his mouth shut. He still hadn’t found a way out. 

“I’ll take your silence as yes. Looks like you learned at least that much from me, my boy. This is harder than I thought it would be, but then I suppose you’ve been something like a son to me, or at the very least the golden goose. I had hoped you hadn’t laid your last egg yet, but apparently you have.” Stane shook his head sadly, in a way that practically screamed that he was faking it. 

Snarling, Tony couldn’t hold back the anger in his chest. “Well, fuck you, Stane! I thought you were my family! I thought you were the only one who would never betray me, never leave me! I fucking hate you. I trusted you when I didn’t trust anyone else. Hell, you were the only person I told about me and Bucky, and that I knocked up Becca! Because I trusted you not to threaten her, unlike Howard.”

Stane snorted at that. “You know, I do understand how angry you must feel. I can see why this is a lot to take in, after all. But in the end, this whole thing comes down to you being too trusting, just like your old man.”

That gave Tony pause. The engineer stared at Stane, brain visibly coming up with a connection, though he prayed there wasn’t one. “I don’t… no?”

“Ah, Anthony, my poor dear boy, Howard was ultimately in the way as well. I did you a fav-arg.”

Several things happened at once.

Tony dived to the floor, hoping to escape the gunshot which never came. Instead, he saw a flash of silver connecting with Stane’s hand holding the gun. The older man let go of the weapon, cradling his hand, and suddenly James was on Stane, appearing as if out of thin air. 

Before long, their fistfight ended with a sickening crack, and Stane’s body fell to the floor, lifeless.

Tony scrambled to his feet, closing the distance between himself and James, inspecting him, both brunets talking over each other in frantic words. 

“Are you ok?”

“Did he get you?”

“Any scratches?”

“God, you’re hurt!” 

“Only a scratch, I shouldn’t have left you.”

“I’m fine, Bucky, what about-”

“Dead. He won’t bother you anymore, Tony.”

Those words shouldn’t have had as hard an impact as they did. Rationally, Tony knew Stane was dead the moment his body hit the floor. Rationally, the smaller man shouldn’t feel anything other than relief about that he was gone. 

But Stane had been his most trusted person for so long, the reality of his betrayal hadn’t even sunk in completely yet. Finding out that the man he had loved like another father - well, more than his real father - had had something to do with Howard’s and Maria’s death? That had shattered something in the engineer.

~~~

James held the sobbing man for hours, not caring about the uncomfortable position they were in or the dead body laying a few meters away from them. He reckoned that it might have been better for Tony if they got away from here for a while, but every time he tried to move, Tony’s sobs became stronger. So, James sat on the hard floor, holding Tony against his chest, and letting him cry as much as he needed. 

James was glad that he had had the foresight to ask JARVIS to seal off the lab so Alpine wouldn’t come upstairs. The fight with Stane had been difficult enough, without Bucky having to worry about her as well as Tony.

Eventually, Tony’s tears dried and they relocated to an empty bedroom. The transformation was astonishing to see. From one second to the next, Tony switched from broken to a man ready to wage war. “So, Soldier, any other unlovely shadow from the past we need to get rid of?”

“Erm? What?”

Sighing, Tony rubbed his temple. It looked like he had a headache. Which, fair enough; if James had been crying so long he’d have one too. “We need to shift the blame for… the body currently wasting space in my living room. Anyone come to mind?”

“Actually… there is one man from… from those that took me. I wasn’t able to get to him. He works for some spy agency, at least officially.”

“Huh? What’s his name?”

“In the underworld-”

“I need his real name, do you have it?”

Swallowing against the lump in his throat and wetting his lips with his tongue in a futile attempt to stay calm, James answered, “Brock Rumlow.”

  
  


\---

It took time, a lot of it. They had to dig deep into James’s past, unravel a lot of things James wasn’t proud about. They - well, mostly Tony - had to pay hush money here and there, and had JARVIS hack into the old police reports about James’s death and erasing the name and any identifying details from them, altering the records so that James Buchanan Barnes never officially died. 

Then they had unearthed a lot of gruesome details about Brock Rumlow, enough to get the man incarcerated, and even blamed for everything the Winter Soldier had done. 

It hadn’t been easy to pull off, and the moment Tony realized he had to pretend Stane died defending Tony, well, a few broken furniture pieces were the least of their worries. 

Both Tony and James decided that they needed therapy to get through this for once, and Alpine was supportive in her own way, cuddling with whichever human needed it most.

The bots had started to warm to the idea of sharing their space with another breathing being, and somehow Alpine and the chaos trio became fast friends.

There were a lot of issues they needed to comb through. Some days neither James nor Tony felt they were up for the job anymore. But then there was always someone to gently remind them that _yes, it’s hard, but you’ve come so far, you can push through this too_.

Eventually, they were ready to reintroduce James to the world as himself. Both men knew where they needed to start, and JARVIS - alongside Pepper, which was a whole different can of worms when she found out about what had been going on in her absence - encouraged them to do it.

That was how Tony Stark and James Barnes found themselves in the driveway of a nice townhouse, a white picket fence surrounding the front lawn, the house’s panelling covered in a light blue paint, window frames white, and the door a reddish oak.

Gulping down his nerves, Tony intertwined his fingers with James’s. Together, they walked to the front door and rang the bell. The brunets didn’t have to wait long before a familiar and yet changed face opened the door, “Sorry, folks, we don’t- Bu...Bucky? Tony?”

“Yeah, hi, Steve.”

“Punk.”

The three men just stared at each other - well, Steve stared at the brunets while Bucky smiled sheepishly and Tony bit his lip nervously.

“Come in?”

Neither brunet had ever heard the blond sound that broken, and they hurried to comply. The explanation which followed, the discussion, the blame-shifting, all of that and more, was direly needed. In the end, two brothers in all but blood found that their relation started to mend. While Tony and Steve's formerly tentative friendship bloomed again.

~~~

End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Forgotten this the first time around)  
> for SBB  
> Title: The Kill Shoot Chapter 9  
> Collaborator Name: J_Gun_i  
> Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22048861/chapters/62845429  
> Square Filled: O2 Shoot first ask never  
> Ship/Main Pairing: WinterIron  
> Rating: E  
> Major Tags & Triggers: violence, threatening with a gun, discussion of violence, discussion of killing, betrayal, lots of emotions, accidental killing  
> Summary: After all is said and done one last threat remained and then they finally got their happily ever after  
> Word Count: 4k

**Author's Note:**

> After long long time I did some revision and still need the first few chapters to be betaed. Tags have changed.


End file.
